Naruto:Death's Second Chance
by Le loup de Kaiser
Summary: Ever since the attack of the Kyubi, Naruto was shunned as ‘Konoha’s Demon’ when he was born with the Kyubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. NaruHina, Naruto/Bleach Crossover.
1. Old Friends

A/N: I do not Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters

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Ever since the attack of the Kyubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews. It's been really bugging me what was wrong with my chapters. Anyhow, this is the revised version of all my chapters. Hope you love it.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyubi Thinking'**_  


**Chapter 1**

_**Old Friends**_

Where it begins…

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The trees stood in favorable attention ever reaching for the sky towards the sun that was now at its peak over the azure plane.

For hundreds of years, this forest has stood unchanged. But the serenity and tranquility that was in this zone of vast vegetation has been imbalanced by several alien interlopers.  
Four of which warped through the cool afternoon breeze. Their features from the eyes of the forest were nothing more than black blurs hurrying towards an unseen destination. With graceful agility, they jumped from tree branch to tree branch linearly while gliding steadily.

Each step that they made couldn't be heard. They were as silent as the shadows themselves. While in their steady pace, dogged to keep moving, one of them seemed troubled. As a result, the blur in the back of the group spoke of the matter…

"There's a bunch of people with identical charka all around us! What the hell is this!?"

The troubled blur, had long red hair and the same color of eyes that were overshadowed by glasses over them. This same blur wore a black coat that ran all the way down its knees. It was mostly open except for the neckline of the coat.

The relayed knowledge from his partner in crime sharpened the consciousness of another one of the blurs in this group. He wasn't agitated, but predicting this possibility, he felt he needed to voice out just for amusement.

"Do we need to take another route Sasuke?"

The cynical one said to the blur leading the way. His stride was heavier than the rest because, underneath his coat, he seems to be carrying a heavy burden that equaled him in height. Though he did not look like he could carry such a thing, his agile leaps from the tree branches said the contrary.

As it stands, he seemed capable of leading this group however; this question that he proposed showed that the person named as Sasuke was in charge of the groups actions. Being the leader of the group, Sasuke made a quick choice seeing as the time had not permitted them leisure to think.

"Ignore it we'll charge straight through."

Sasuke had the same black coat over his white Gi, which was left open to reveal his chest and stomach. It was tied at the end with a large purple rope that was tied in a bow at the back. He also wore pants of the same color as the rope and black shinobi sandals with uncovered ends for the toes to be seen and a guard-less katana, positioned slightly diagonal on his back for his right arm to reach with ease. He had deep brown eyes that borderlines toward black, and black hair that rose at the back with bangs parted at the front to cover his cheeks. From his emotionless reply to the question, the cynical blur sighed in relief and said,

"Thank Kami, detours always wipe me out."

With that, they dashed away into the foliage.

While they dashed further along, more blurs trailed them like wolves on the hunt, in the same direction except the blurs hot on their tail were white. It was a hunt that had exceeded the normal stamina of an average human being as they brushed past the forest with feats of agility never seen by normal human eyes. Then again, only the eyes of the forest could glimpse at the elegant game of tag that they pursued.

Unknowingly to the two factions playing cat and mouse, a lone blur, several meters away from the chasing groups, stopped momentarily. 

Keeping his blond locks of hair up was a black headband with the symbol of a spiral that looked like a leaf engraved on a metal plate. He wore a coat opposite in color to the ones in black except for the double black lines that line the end of the coat. Underneath the coat, he wore a zipped up jacket with black coloring the top half, and orange at the other half and a red spiral at the back. He also wore orange pants and the same shinobi shoes as Sasuke. Tied to his right leg was a kunai pouch and several more tied to the belt at the back. 

Not knowing where to go, but determined, he pushed on to look for the group of Sasuke. During his pause, he stiffened in shock as if nostalgia took over from the sight in front of him.

As his cerulean eyes glares at what was in front of him, he screamed the name of someone he thought he'd never see again as if it was a mist in his mind.

"SASUKE!!"

Before he could say anymore, Sasuke shoved his electrically charged left hand, into the blonde's chest. Then taking the full brunt of the attack, the blonde was thrown backwards and disappeared into smoke.

"What the f-" 

Said the troubled blur from shock as the blonde disappeared from sight.

"A shadow clone."

The cynical one quickly responded severing the profane word to one ambiguous letter. 

This however did not please the blur leading the way. His cold and unemotional face didn't at the slightest bit change in expression as he sighed and spoke, 

"Naruto…he never gives up…"

----------o)0(o----------

Several miles away…still in the midst of countless grass and trees, a group of white blurs  
Just meters away from Sasuke's group, aimlessly searches for them not knowing how far they could be or where they might have gone to.

Within that group the blond telepathically received the last image of his **Kage Bunshin** who confronted Sasuke. Instantaneously, he relayed the message to the rest of the team with him…

"I found him!"

The rest of the team of seven with him in white coats simultaneously turned their heads towards the blonde. Everyone's heart now beating in hopeful reassurance that this time, they have found what they're looking for.

"Way to go Naruto! Which way?"

The dog-rider ahead of him asked excitedly. His dog was colored white while its ears were colored red. The rider wore the same headband as Naruto, had brown hair in a similar fashion, and red markings that ran from his cheeks towards his chin in a blade shape. Underneath his coat, he wore a black jacket covering his fishnet undershirt, and black pants and shinobi shoes of the same color. He has the same battle gear as Naruto.

Upon hearing this question, he turned his head forward with determined eyes, made  
this brief reply.

"Follow me!!"

With that, the rest of the group followed in acknowledgement, speeding off, from branch to branch.

As Naruto moved along, he began clearing the maelstrom in his mind as he concentrated on finding the current location of Sasuke and his group.

'_You're not getting away this time Sasuke'_

He thought to himself with absolute staunchness. While he allowed himself to get caught in his thoughts, one of the team members too had been caught in the same nostalgic trance. But because of her liberal personality, she openly spoke her thoughts.

"It's been too long, then again rather short since we saw him last time."

"It sure has Sakura. But at least this time we have a positive lead."

He replied to the pink haired youth. Sakura had green eyes, and a red version of the headband on top of her head. Her hair was short. More suited for combat than for style. Underneath her coat, she sported a red sleeveless vest that was zipped up starting from her left waist all the way up to the center of her neckline. She wore pink shoulder-pads and skirt which was slit in the front and sides except for the pink straps which held it in place. She also wore black gloves and tight shorts of the same color which rose an inch above her knees, and the same colored boot-like version of the shinobi shoes. And lastly but not least, the same battle gear as her comrades. However, she was not the only one who motioned to speak her mind.

Another one of the team members motioned in her heart to speak. Shy and reserved, her mind wished to speak though her timid heart could not. As she struggled in her soul and opened her lips to spread out what has been relentlessly waving through her mind, she just shut her lips in utter defeat to her heart. Those at the front didn't see her actions, but they were by those closest to her.

The person beside her, who noticed her odd actions, questioned as to what she was to say.

"You were saying something Hinata?"

The perceptive man asked away, curious of the shy one's actions.

The man had his headband raised enough so the other end could cover his left eye and made his hair sway more to the left. He wore a blue mask that covered most of his lower face and nose. He wore a blue undershirt with sleeves, pants and shinobi shoes of the same color. He also wore a green sleeveless cargo vest with many pouches at either side of the front of his vest and a red spiral on its back.

"N-no! It's nothing r-really."

The shy one said as she blushed, and closed her lavender eyes to avoid another expected question. This of course, raised an eyebrow on the perceptive man. Quenching his suspicions he then replied.

"Are you sure? We're still a way off from Sasuke and his group. It might be important."

"No really! I-its nothing at all, Kakashi-sensei… It's not that important."

She said as she looked towards the ground below and touched the tips of her index finger.

Hinata had long bluish black hair flowing in her back which reached just at the middle of her spine. Her hair was shorter in the front except for the bangs in the side that hung until neckline for her eyes and white-skinned face to show. She wore a blackish blue version of the ninja headband on her neck and a jacket, which was mostly purple except for the sleeves and hood at the back that were white except the ends of the sleeves, were purple. She wore blue pants which became tighter around the ends and raised about four and a half inches above her ankles to reveal her black shinobi shoes which were mostly open and strapped to cuff just above her ankles. She also had the same battle gear as the rest of her comrades.

'_It can wait after we retrieve Sasuke. After all, we still have a mission.'_

_Flashback_

_The entire team of eight, nine if you count the canine of the dog rider, assembled at the rooftop of a shrine somewhere out in fire country. As soon as all members of the search party were present and at attention, Kakashi spoke his orders to them._

"_We'll start by searching everywhere in a five kilometer radius, using this roof as our center. If we don't come up with anything, we'll relocate and search another five kilometer area and repeat until we find a clue."_

"_Five kilometers? But our wireless equipment won't work if we split up that far! And we'll be in danger if we're alone and something happens!"_

_The panicked pink-haired girl said as she carefully took into account her sensei's words. While still having their attention, she motioned her own opinion._

"_We should go in teams of two, at the very least. That way if we encounter any enem-"_

"_Relax, Sakura."_

_One of the older ones in the team said, reassuring her that the problem would be settled._

_Kakashi crouched down and slammed his right palm flat upon the red tiled roof and a summoning seal revealed itself. In an instant, a puff of smoke appeared. When it finally cleared, eight dogs in several shapes and sizes appeared. The pink-haired kunoichi just stood awestruck by the sudden appearances of the canines. More so was she surprised, when the smallest dog, who sat on the head of the biggest dog, started to speak._

"_The echoes of your voices will reach our ears just as fast as wireless gear. And our noses will detect danger well enough in advance to back the closest person up."_

"_Pakkun!"_

_The young blonde shouted as he instantly recognized the brown pit bull with a forehead protector on to of his head and a blue vest with a strange insignia on its back. _

_With the blonde and Kakashi's faithful summon reunited, Kakashi wasted not time to inform the team of their reconnaissance tactic._

"_Here's how our patrols will work. Each person on patrol will have two of my ninja hounds as bodyguards. Be nice to them ok?"_

" _Two? Wait, but then-"_

"_Hiya Sakura-chan!_

_One of the dogs said as it approached her._

"_You always go for the noisy girls, man."_

_The other said as it followed his companion._

_As they formed their teams, Naruto mentally counted the number of dogs. Aside from the dog rider who already has one, he noticed that he had no canine companion with him as well._

"_What about me?"_

_The young blonde questioned._

"_Since you're a jinchuuriki, they'll be targeting you. Since Akatsuki may attack you first, you'll be going with Yamato, for backup and Hinata for her scouting abilities."_

_Kakashi replied._

"_And Bull since he's loud."_

_Pakkun added from Kakashi's right shoulder were he was perched. The largest of the summoned dogs barked in reply as his spiked collar shook slightly and his dumpy gray mane flowed with the wind._

_Naruto turned his head around to see the large dog that replied, just in time to see Hinata approach him._

"_L-let's do our best, Naruto-kun!"_

"_Right!"_

_The enthusiastic blonde curtly replied._

'_I'll give it my all so we can find Sasuke, Naruto-kun'_

_The shy Hinata thought to herself with fierce, but quiet determination._

_With that, the other dogs began to form in pairs as each formed their specific tracking group and commenced the operation to find Sasuke or Itachi. After each member found their canine companions, Kakashi made his final order before they set off._

"_All right guys, remember that trailing Sasuke's scent takes priority, and Akatsuki comes second. And regardless of which target you find, your mission is only to determine their location and report back here."_

_Everyone in the team looked poised and ready to depart. All they needed was the signal from Kakashi. When the one-eyed jounin saw they were ready, he raised his right hand and gave the signal._

" _Scramble!"_

_The entire team then blurred out of existence when the leapt off in different directions._

_End of Flashback_

As they leaped for hours from branch to branch, in exhaustion, another question from a teammate in that group was darted at the blonde leading the way.

"How much further Naruto?"

Spoke the exhausted one of the team. He had brown hair and wore the same clothing as Kakashi except for his headband, which was shaped to curve his cheeks and chin, and he wore no mask which allowed everyone to see his face. 

His face showed concern to the rest of the team knowing that Sasuke could be long gone before they know it. 

Sensing this and equipped with the knowledge necessary to locate said person, Naruto replied.

"Not much further Yamato-taicho. If we hurry, we might be able to catch them before they make it to the border by sunset."

With his mind rest assured that it's not much further, Yamato then commanded away.

"Good…Let's keep moving! Everyone, don't fall behind!"

With that firm command, the entire team jumped further and faster towards the direction that Naruto was leading.

"Sasuke knows were on to him before we get there. By the way he moves before we do, he must have one heck of a team member who can feel our presence from several meters away. It would be wise if we can find a way to know the general direction of where he is headed."

The hooded one said in a monotone voice. He wears the hood of his coat to cover his head-full of black hair and face from the sun. He wore a forehead protector and black shades. He also wore a black shirt with a straightened up collar that covers his entire neck and lower face, shoes and rolled up pants of the same color. His feet were bandaged all the way up to his lower legs so none of his skin could be seen. He also wore the same battle gear as the rest. 

Everyone nodded at his statement knowing full well how far his or her target was running and how fast. Another one of the eight members motioned to reply to his statement.

"You're right there Shino. It's not exactly a walk in the park like last time in Orochimaru's hideout. Even the slightest amount of charka might trigger suspicion from them. That means Hinata's **Byakugan** would be useless if we can't think of a distraction."

The objective one in the group said. He wore the same battle gear and forehead protector like the rest. His shirt was colored black and hung just above his stomach. His gloves, pants, shoes and hair were of the same color as the shirt. He had the same color of eyes as Sasuke. In fact, he could very well be Sasuke's twin as he looked just like him if it were not for his shorter, tamer hair that flowed down to his cheek. 

With his calculated statement, all were thinking of a way to counter this weakness. Until, like a spark of a fuse, Naruto's brain lit up with an idea.

"I've got an idea for that problem Sai and Shino."

He said to the black clad objective one and the hooded one with the monotone voice. All eyes now turned to Naruto with open minds and ears, waiting on his brilliant plan. The pink haired youth asked away in impatience.

"What is it then?"

Undeterred, Naruto began to give the necessary commands to his team in order to commence the imminent operation.

"Kiba, could you spray Akamaru's scent on us? And Kakashi-sensei, can we have the other dogs spray their scent on us as well?"

He said to the dog-rider and the perceptive man. A fox grin formed on his face. This startled everyone and put all in fear of what his 'unconventional' plan was. The entire team then just sweat-dropped and had a bluish pale expression on them. These questionable orders from Naruto's lips inspired a heightened emotion from a certain pink haired youth.

"BAKA! LIKE HELL I'D GET PISSED ON BY A MUTT SHANNARO!!"

She screamed while vomiting the words 'pissed on' and a vein started throbbing on her head. Of course, the rest of the team reluctantly agreed but still stumped by how it will break off their chakra trail from the enemy's line of sight. The dog-rider then took the liberty of speaking his mind concerning the matter.

"Sure no problem…I think I get what you're doing. But our chakra—"

Before Kiba could continue his sentence, Naruto raised his hands and used his two fingers; both the middle and index, from both hands two form a cross pattern and shouted,

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"  
**  
Soon, all eight of them saw eight more Naruto clones appear before them. With a quick shout of **'Henge'** from the original Naruto, all the clones became identical copies of the team of eight. Seeing his plan in motion, the perceptive man was no longer baffled.

"I get it now. By spraying the dogs' scent on us, we would smell like the summoned dogs and we would chase them in two directions. They would notice the clones but not the dogs and probably confuse us for the summoned dogs."

The one-eyed jounin said as he paced faster.

Understanding this, the hooded one with a monotone voice continued his dialogue.

"The charka signatures won't be noticed because we would smell like the summoned dogs and they would think we summoned more dogs to the battlefield."

With a smirk on his face Naruto nodded. With this done, the clones followed the trail with some of Kakashi's summoned dogs while the rest split in another direction hoping to reach them on the other side through the cliffs near the edge of the forest. When they reached the end of the cliff, Hinata, from a reserved state, was now confident enough to use her skills to detect the enemy. Clasping her hands in a strange fashion with some of her fingers tucked in, she shouted,

"**Byakugan**...I can see them. It seems their running away faster now into the cliff up ahead. The plan is working." _'Naruto's plan is leading them into a dead end. It actually worked.'_

The rest of the team except Naruto just smiled as they heard her reconnaissance of the area. Now poised and ready to ambush them from their vantage point, they readied themselves for battle. Sakura, though worried, put on her bravest face as she tightened her grip on her gloves. Sai prepared his scroll and brush and checked how much ink he has left. Shino sent his bugs out into the grounds were they would commence the strategy at his whim. Kiba and Akamaru, his dog, just sat at the foothill to hide their presence as planned. Yamato clung close to the walls of the cliff keeping an eye out ahead while Hinata and Naruto hid among the trees closest to the cliff to prepare for the capture of Sasuke's group.

There was silence. 

Not even the chirping of birds was heard. 

The wind died down in the barrier of silence. 

This was it. 

It is their one and only one chance to regain an old friend.

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Whew! Its short, but I finally have my first fanfic up! Anyway, for those who aren't familiar with the setting of this chapter, half of it was from the manga where they're chasing Sasuke. The last half was my own. 

This fanfic is still in progress so I need reviews.

Ok, let's clear up some things:

1st of all, there will be NO harem, Yaoi and Yuri. I already chose the pairings, and frankly I'm satisfied with it thank you…

2nd, I'm fine with criticism. BRING ON THE FLAMES!! I THRIVE IN FIRE!!

And lastly, please tell me if some things are confusing and if I have typos. I'm an aspiring writer and I need to know especially since I don't have a beta. Not that I need one at the moment.

Anyhow, the next chapter will be more exciting. Expect Hinata to kick ass in the next one. Whoever said she is weak is dead wrong. The quite ones are usually the scariest to encounter. Hope you enjoyed reading my fanfic.


	2. A Fate Worse than Death

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Ever since the attack of the Kyubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 2  
**

_**A Fate Worse than Death  
**_

Where it continues…

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Silence…An ominous one to be exact.

Only the souls of those who lived in this forest could possible understand why it was so eerie and tense.

While friends and foes gather together for the fateful encounter that would inevitably change their lives, nature had other things planned for them.

For the trespassers on nature's domain, only the souls of the dead can attest to their fate in this chapter of their lives as nature itself, decides to join in the battle.

With Naruto's team prepared and itching for the battle to end this game of cat and mouse, Yamato, Naruto's new captain and sensei, kept ever vigilant of the horizon. With watchful eyes, he kept a steady gaze until he saw exactly what they had prepared for. Without a moments notice, he turned his head towards the team and said,

"They're here!"

As they heard his voice echo through the cliffs, they sharpened themselves for the plan to capture their foe, hook-line-and sinker.

Naruto stood as still as he could in the edge of the forest nearest the cliffs, with Hinata beside him. As Hinata crouched to make her less noticeable through the tufts of foliage, Naruto, with his left hand, carefully reached for his back pouch on his belt. As he took in his hand a kunai with a tag tied to its end and the kanji for 'fire' written on it, he went through his mindscape, trying play the re-run of the plan to capture Sasuke in his mind.

_Flashback _

Just after Hinata had used her _**Byakugan**__ to see the enemy on the horizon, Kakashi grabbed their attention to strategize on how they will go about to turn the slippery eel into a caged bird. _

With an authority brimming from his unseen lips, and his once speeding heartbeat from all the sprinting, now slowing down, he began to speak of his master plan.

"Ok, Here's the plan. Yamato, keep a lookout and place some wire around the remaining trees and stumps closest to the cliff so that they intersect with each other. Shino, keep your bugs within the forest grounds so they don't move out of the trap once they're in. Kiba, you and me will take out Sasuke's bodyguards. That leaves Sai and Sakura to distract them the moment we can't hold them in."

"what about me and Hinata-chan?"

Naruto questioned as he felt that he and Hinata were left out of the loop. Seeing this Yamato made an appropriate task for Naruto. He then slowly walked to Naruto and then placed his hands upon the blonde's shoulders. With a serious yet thoughtful gaze falling upon the puzzled blonde's face, he then told him.

"You're going to set off the trap and capture Sasuke. In the confusion, it will be hard for us to move, but with your _**Kage Bunshins**__, you have a better chance of taking Sasuke before they have the chance to move in for the kill." _

He said with all seriousness, he handed over to Naruto a tagged kunai for him to use. Grasping this weapon, Naruto looked at Yamato…his cerulean eyes meeting his deep brown ones. Then he nodded in acknowledgement and moved in point to do his part of the grand plan. Hinata however knew that Naruto was as serious as he could be and wished to help him fulfill his task. A look of determination shone on her face. Her timid heart, though struggled for a moment, but eventually, submitted to her will. As she turns to join Naruto in his hiding spot, Yamato, unknowingly to her, grabbed her by the shoulder. This surprised her and caused her heart to beat faster. Her breathing became deeper as she felt the warm hands of Yamato.

Yamato could only say to her what was objective as this was what was logged into his mind after years of self-discipline and much battlefield experience. And so, that he did as he spoke to her…

"Hinata, please help Naruto. He needs you to guide him. Not just in this mission, but also after. He might become reckless. I know he is capable on his own, but someone needs to make sure he doesn't do anything too rash that it could cost him the team. And from my position in the plan, I might not make it in time to stop him. Can you do this?"

He said to her. A shocked Hinata turned her head around to face the dead serious Jounin. Though she was embarrassed, she nonetheless closed her eyes and smiled with her face blooming like a rose. Her smile in turn infectiously caused Yamato to smile as well. Yamato now felt that Hinata understood what her task was and was prepared to do it despite her emotional and psychological state. She wasn't always the shy reserved type he imagined her to be. He realized that despite her appearance, she was a strong person who was willing to do whatever it took to protect those she loved and cared for and was committed to the mission.

With that, Hinata faced her head forward and leapt off in search of Naruto.

Naruto then was surprised to see Hinata by his side. Of course Hinata explained that it was an, 'order from Yamato-taicho'. Though in her heart, she would gladly join him anyway as she no longer wished to succumb to her weak-willed persona forever. In her mind only one thought kept reverberating…

'Its been so long since I've seen him…I want to do things right this time…who knows were he would run off to this time…I don't want to regret not doing what I could have done before he left…not anymore.' 

_End of Flashback__  
_  
Back in real time….Sasuke and his group hurriedly pushed towards the field ahead of them to avoid capture from the group behind him.

"THEY'RE STILL CHASING US!"

The troubled red-head in Sasuke's team said. They had sprinted much faster than before to escape the clutches of their captors. Unknowingly, into the trap set before them.

A concerned look was showing on the face of the tallest one in Sasuke's group. Aside from the black coat, he wore grey tattered pants and no clothing on his top half which revealed his chiseled, battle-scarred body. On his head, silver hair raised to the sky though slightly brushed back. He also had a diamond shaped tattoo on his left hand. Overall, aside from his size, there was nothing very distinct about him. As such, some people easily ignore him. This man, who began piecing together the events that are happening to them at the moment, voiced out to their leader.

"I think this is a trap. We should—"

before the deep voiced man could continue his sentence, they already landed on the ground near the cliffs. An ominous breeze could be felt in the air as they carefully searched around for their pursuers or any impending danger that may have been laid ahead of them.

To their right, a huge pit with nothing but darkness at the bottom implying a depth they cannot escape; an obvious trap that must be avoided. Behind them, the edge of the forest was lined with dying trees, as they grew closer to the cliff.

In front of them, was the steep mountainside brimming with rocks and boulders. A good hiding spot for an ambush and a potential trap as well.

To their left was a pile of stumps and broken trees that were not caused by any man. _'A storm had occurred'_ they thought at seeing the conditions of that side of the forest.

As they looked really hard, Sasuke spotted a shining object gleaming on the left side of his eye. As he turned his head to look, the object passed by in front of him.

While reflexively following the path of the object, his eyes opened wider with every millisecond.

It was a kunai just three centimeters away from his face. As it zoomed passed him, it hit a rock on the grassy field. Upon closer inspection, it had a tag on it that started to burn up like a dynamite wick. Seeing this, all four members, attempted to nimbly leap away from the impending danger. Their attempts failed as the earth itself reached for their legs and grabbed them with a tight grip.

_'my technique was right on target I might not be able to hold them for long though'  
_

Yamato thought from a hidden location as he kept a tight grip of concentration for the moment to give his teammates the necessary time to commence the plan.

As Sasuke's team panicked, Kakashi saw this chance and raised the end of the wire he was pulling and it immediately revealed itself from the grassy field. The wire revealed that it had several tags on it that lined up the hexagonal shape of the wires tied together. Sasuke did not flinch at this despite him being caught in this successful trap. He remained cold, calm and calculating.

After a second, he then barked at his team.

"Stay close to me… I'll get us out."

His orders cut through their hearts like a knife through the water. They immediately ducked in position as much as they could though their feet were still stuck in the ground. The tags then exploded, leaving a cloud of smoke around the area. Seizing this opportunity, they began their assault in the smoke.

Kiba and Akamaru leaped from the grassy plain and in midair, Akamaru transformed into a clone of Kiba, and both began to spin wildly.

"**Getsuga!"**

His command made them spin into two cyclones as they dived in the smoke.

Kakashi wasted no time either as he raised his forehead protector to reveal his left eyelid which had a vertical scar that ran down to his mask. When he opened it, it revealed a crimson eye with three tomoes that encircled his pupil. He then blurred through several handseals. When he finished the last one, he raised his right hand just a fist apart from his chest. The sounds of sharp crackling could be heard as it became a visible ball of pure lightning.

"**Raikiri!"**

He then charged at breakneck speed into the smoke with right hand leading the way.

As quickly as he could, Sai started to draw several lions on his scroll and made several hand seals and finished by shouting the words,

"**Choju Giga!"**

As soon as he finished the incantation, the many drawings of lions came to life and charged straight through the smoke. In cohesion with his attack, Sakura grabbed a nearby boulder and threw it at the trees behind the smoke allowing the prepared broken trees to release the bugs of Shino that flew into the smoke as well. This action also made sure Sasuke could not escape from the forest behind them as well.

As the plan now materialized, Hinata decided to check things out using her special ability to see through the hazy mist of gunpowder and dust. She made the necessary hand seals and finished the incantation with the word,

"**Byakugan**!"

With that word, the veins of her eyes now throbbed and tightened revealing themselves for all to see. Her gaze sharpened, as she looked hard into the smoke. Her vision transformed from Technicolor into black and white. But with this change of vision color, she now could see farther and closer than eagles can. As she looked into the smoke, she pulled on Naruto's coat and spoke to him.

"N-naruto! I-is that…Sasuke?"

She questioned in utter distress with wide-open eyes. She gripped his coat even tighter at what she saw through her telescopic eyes. Naruto understood at what she saw, for he saw it firsthand at the Valley of the End. Feeling her fear, he grabbed her hand and calmly reassured her.

"Its alright Hinata, his bark is worse than his bite."

He said soberly to her. Feeling the valor in him that she always saw in him, she too, became courageous by the inspiration of Naruto's words. Hinata then joined him in his assault on the mist of smoke.

When the smoke finally cleared, the rest of team was shocked by the form of Sasuke that sent chills down their spines.

As Kakashi's electrically charged arm was halted dead in its tracks, and Kiba and his dog Akamaru's team attack completely stopped, by what looks like a giant brown pair of hands.

Underneath those hands, were the other three teammates of Sasuke. Sasuke himself was the one who shielded them from the onslaught of both attacks from Kakashi and Kiba.

As Sasuke brings his head upward his features have altered drastically. His coat burned from the explosive tags. And his Gi burned as well revealing his now dark skin. His hair was a shade of light blue, and reached the middle of his spine. On his face was a black tattoo-like cross marking and his eyes glowed red with the infamous triple tomoe on each eye know as the **Sharingan**. Sasuke's unusually shaped 'wings' opened up and retracted behind him; hung like cloth on a coat hanger. The monster in his inner reflection now became his outer one.

Kakashi and Kiba jumped back and allowed Sai's lions to attack while Sasuke's guard was down. Sasuke predicted this and used his **Chidori Nagasi** to eradicate the ink based beasts and the stony prison hobbling their feet. Not noticing the bugs on their backs, they began to take fighting stances.

Sakura leaped from the cliff heading straight towards the fray. Her left arm recoiled back as she ran towards the battlegrounds. When she got within arm range, in one flowing motion, she twisted her right side causing her right arm to recoil and charge her fist, and finally leaping to give a right straight punch to the largest one. The deep voiced man then leapt towards the right, barely avoiding the devastating punch that landed on the ground leaving a huge crater on the point of impact from Sakura.

This of course alarmed the troubled one beside him when the assault started. Especially since this attack killed the remaining smoke screen that was blinding them. This made her voice out in alarm.

"Jugo! Are you all right?"

The troubled one asked in despair. Realizing the potential threat in front of him, Jugo, the deep voiced man, cautiously fought the pink haired strong-arm in front of him. Just a couple of milliseconds had gone by before they all snapped to attention to commence their battle. The next set of blows would determine who was ready to fight and who was ready to die.

Bugs erupted from the ground in an attempt to engulf team Sasuke. Sasuke then activated his **Chidori Nagasi **once more and eradicated the bugs and Kiba and Akamaru's second assault.

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Kakashi's Fight

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The cynical one, with his right arm poised, reached for the object burdening his back. As he reached out to grasp what looks like a handle, Kakashi, with a burst of speed, assaulted with a kunai in his right hand attempting to lunge it at his opponent. Seeing this, the cynical one quickened his draw and met Kakashi's kunai with his now drawn weapon.

The sound of metal could be heard clashing like the sound of the hammer of a blacksmith during a forge.

Kakashi, while guarding the weapon's attack with his kunai, said in shock to his adversary.

"That…THAT'S Zabuza's weapon! You took it from his grave! Who are you?"

It was a sword that was the height of a man and the width of its blade was the length of its master's forearm. The only other unique thing about this sword was that it had a cresent shaped area just below the center of the blade.

He questioned the man as he knew that the previous owner of that weapon had died several years ago and no one aside from his team knew where his sword was placed. That is, unless, he had a connection somehow to Zabuza, its previous master.

Upon hearing the question of his adversary, the cynical one just smirked and smiled, revealing his sharpened dagger-like teeth.

Kakashi, now realizing what he's up against, leaped away and formed several hand seals and shouted,

"**Futon: Daitopa!"**

A huge blast of wind came crashing into the enemy which sent him flying back into the broken trees behind him. As the cynical one fell back first into the trees, Yamato then blurred through some handseals and when he finished, wood from the fallen trees were the cynical one landed grappled him.

a spark occurred from the various tags that surrounded the snakelike wooden branches. Before he could wake up into consciousness, a huge explosion burned down the fallen man. All that was left was the huge sword lying on the ground.

_'kuso…Suigetsu was careless'_

Sasuke thought as he looked upon the remains. It was clear he was outnumbered and had fallen into their hands only to await prison in Konoha when they would inevitablely be captured.

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Hinata's Fight

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As Sasuke came to his senses from his brief rant about his fallen comrade, he felt a heavy and sharp pain to his left side. The pain felt like he was being shredded continuously by a meat grinder.

As he turned to look, he saw it was Naruto using one of his trademark techniques, the **Rasengan--**a ball of pure energy that tears to shreds in multiple areas on one location of whatever it hits.

This attack caused him to fumble back on the dirt and fall on one knee while clutching his rope-burned left ribs. Before he could recompose, another attacker came at him.

Before he could react, she stopped just right in front of him and went into a fighting stance where her left foot was slightly in front of her right, and her right hand coiled to her right side and her left slightly outstretched. Her eyes sharpened with fierce determination like that of a tiger. With absolute focus and her **Byakugan** still active, she then announced the incantation of her attack.

"**Juuken Hyaku Nijūhachi Tsume no Tora!"  
**  
In a flash, using her grace and flexibility,

she sent twenty 'claw mimicking' palm strikes to the chest,

fifty to the solar plexus,

fourteen to the right and left arms,

a sweeping back, right, step kick to the back of the right leg and uses it to leap sideways to perform,

a graceful combination of a double spin while delivering forty strikes to the entire backside starting from the heel up and while still in midair,

she grabs his left shoulder and swings her body weight like a gymnast and sits on his shoulders facing him front; delivering him three strikes to the head causing him to lose balance, allowing her to back flip so she lands on the ground.

With both arms coiled back, her right foot back and her left foot to lead the entire body. When she makes the step, she releases a double palm strike to the chest, sending him flying to his troubled redheaded, making them both collapse into the ground.

Seeing the full-scale damage and area coverage of the technique, Naruto was amazed at how much she has grown in the two and a half years spent away. The once shy and timid Hinata he knew to faint, blush and stutter…is now a powerful, independent, and courageous woman!

As he dusted off his astonishment of her skills, he was surprised to see Sasuke standing up!

Completely unfazed by the attack combination and regenerating from the implosive destructive force of the **juuken** strikes and the grinded **Rasengan **damaged area with every second. Sasuke started to open up his wings and began to hover slightly above the ground.

Sasuke, not wasting any time and effort, flapped his wings, and charged at the duo.

And with his electrically charged sword drawn at his right hand, he made a swift side slash which Naruto ducked from and Hinata nimbly sidestepped to the right avoiding the weapon. Sasuke wasn't done there though. While still in motion, with his right wing, he slaps them hard causing them both to fly directly in the pit.

With eyes open wide, Kiba attempts to grab them both with utter failure as the pit now glowed red with a magical seal that kept others from entering and the two from getting out.

"Naruto! Hinata!"

He screamed as he saw his two friends fall further into the darkness. With everyones' attention drawn to the two falling, Sasuke used this rare opportunity to escape their clutches once more.

Catching the attention of his other teammates, he then said,

"Now is our chance…lets move Jugo and Karin…gahh!"

Sasuke said to the deep voiced man and the troubled redhead, taking the opportunity at hand while still holding his side. The damage that both fighters gave to him now started to take effect.

_'kuso…that…was…really…painful…AAack!'_

The wounded raven haired boy thought as he gripped his bleeding side and shivered from the intense pain of Hinata's strikes.

Karin, seeing his badly beaten state, held Sasuke's left arm over her while jumping off with him and Jugo following behind carrying a bottle of water and Suigetsu's sword.

Sai attempted to follow close behind but was held back by Shino as he grabbed him and told him.

"Not now, Naruto and Hinata are the first priority. Besides, I have them tagged with my bugs already."

The rest of the team then stood over the pit with Sakura attempting to break the invisible seal…all to no avail. They all stared into the thickening darkness. Hopelessness filled their eyes and tears streamed forth from Sakura's own. They could not go in to help them. Neither could the two in the blackness come out with such a strong barrier over it.

Yamato however, remembered something from his early days concerning this situation. With all the emotionless charged words he could muster, he then told the helpless lambs.

"I have heard of this pit. They say that, before civilization was formed, a huge battle ensued between the 'Four Gate Guardians of the Continent' and that the one who won that battle, was buried here and that his soul will not rest until his thirst is fulfilled by the souls of 'true hearts'. It was also said that when a suitable soul was found, a magical, unbreakable barrier would form over the entrance and he would live in the chosen sacrifice and would eternally feed on his or her soul until he could regenerate and be reborn. It was just a fairy tale, a legend… Until now, I never knew it actually exists."

All six of them tried hard to swallow this information as they were still traumatized at how their friends were just thrown into a disaster like this. Trying to make sense of it all, Kakashi voiced out his curious mind.

"But who was chosen, Naruto or Hinata? Could it be both of them?"

He had a point. It could be that only one of them, or both, or even the unlikely chance that they were taken by mistake. But despite this, the hole in each of their wounded hearts could think only one thing…

_'this is unreal…it's a mistake…'_

But Yamato could not see how Kakashi's statement could matter at a dreadful time as this. He then turned to Kakashi. With nothing but the pessimistic, yet unbridled truth, his lips formed words that lacerated the team even more than ever…

"Does it matter? Either way, they both are now forever damned down there. The seal isn't a regular seal. Its powers are arcane to us. It might be a better time to retreat at the moment…"

He was right despite the bitter taste of the inference of Yamato.

They knew full well that none of them could save their friends that have fallen in a forever blackening pit with a monster waiting at end to consume their souls.

To them, death would have been better than the unknown knowledge of whether they were safe or not from the _thing_ that awaits them at the bottom.

But one thing was certain,

That darkness… and depth of it… was definitely…a fate worse than death.

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Yup, here it is. Chapter two of Naruto: Death's Second Chance.

Ya, the main pairings are obvious. I really don't think Sakura deserves the noble blonde's heart after what he went through. I mean C'MON! I understand how Kishimoto wants it to be Sakura because she didn't know and understand, but when you think about it, Hinata tried her best to actually befriend him and never hit him for being annoying. Plus, it's painfully obvious how much better of a pair they would be.

The next chapter will change things for both of them.

One last reminder, please review!

And thanks for reading the latest chapter in Naruto: Death's Second Chance

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**Choju Giga(Super Beasts Imitation Jutsu) **- Sai's special jutsu that allows his drawings to come to life so he can use them for various attacks and defenses.

**Chidori Nagasi(One Thousand Birds Current)**- A technique that produces a current of electricity to act as a shield that stuns those who come in contact with it.

**Fuuton Daitopa(Wind Art: Great Breakthrough)**- a technique that sends a blast of wind. the strength of the technique is proportional to the chakra molded for it.

**Juuken Hyaku Nijuhachi Tsume no Tora(Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty Eight Claws of the Tiger)**- a modified version of the one hundred twenty eight palm strikes in which chakra is manipulated to create swirling vaccums in the tenketsus instead of closing it causing the target to suffer from intense implosive destruction.


	3. My Heart is now Satisfied

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Ever since the attack of the Kyubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 3**

_**My Heart is now Satisfied**_

The Next Path…

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Darkness…It was all that his cerulean eyes could peer into.

Shadows…Now present to his eyes, was the image imprinted on his mind.

Haze…the form began to show distinct shape and color though he couldn't make out exactly what it was.

A Woman…His eyes now fixated by the darkness could see the figure before him. His gaze did not leave him as he saw a beautiful woman with long, silky blue hair and lavender eyes met his with a look of concern. Her face was sporting a mild pink color as she kept repeating his name.

"Naruto-kun…Naruto-kun…Wake up Naruto-kun! It's me, Hinata. Are you all right?"

The soft echo of her voice started to reverberate in his mind like a ripple on a lake. He then snapped back into reality to realize what had happened. From the storeroom of his mind, he replayed what had just happened to them several minutes ago…

_Flashback _

Sasuke swung his right wing at Naruto which caused Naruto to be blown back from the impact. Unfortunately, Hinata was behind the blonde in midair. Naturally, she was swept by the impact of his body colliding with hers. Both were pushed back so far that they began to fall into the pit behind Sasuke as soon as the force's acceleration had reached its peak and began to die down. Both fell; screaming as they were in a seemingly never ending freefall into the abyss below.

Seeing the abyss below starting to close in as they plummeted, Naruto began to take action and reached and grabbed Hinata close to his chest as he hugged her tightly and turned around so that his back was facing the abyss.

Hinata, blushed at the awkward position she was in, but soon it faded away as she felt they were being tossed and turned as Naruto took the full blows of the outcropping rocks in the crevice that could have hit Hinata and impaled her. As she peaked over her guardian's right shoulder, she screamed to Naruto of the impending danger before them.

"Naruto-kun! To your right!"

Her warnings however did not fall upon deaf ears. Hearing this, Naruto quickly opened his right hand. Reflexively, a _**Kage Bunshin**__ of him appeared began to mold with both of his hands the circular ball of energy that was forming in Naruto's right hand. Once the shape was complete Naruto faced the impending danger, right hand leading the way, and shouted, _

"_**Rasengan!"**_

The ball of energy now bashed through the rocks ahead like a hammer on a windowpane. When the technique had finally expired, they were caught unprepared by the clumps of boulders at the bottom. It was too late for Naruto to create another _**Rasengan**__. Bracing himself, he turned his backside again for Hinata not to take the impact. _

Adrenaline began pouring through her veins. Within a heart beat, she left her tight grip on her blonde savior, and outstretched her arms and spun her body like a ballerina while shouting the word,

"_**Kaiten!"**_

The incantation made its effect as a sphere of pure energy encased them and spun in the direction of her spinning body, effectively grinding the roughly shaped boulders into very fine grains of sand. When the technique had finished, they fell directly below the sand and into a cavern were they both collapsed. Unconscious they were, but safe because of the sand that cushioned their fall. 

_End of Flashback_

With his reminiscence of what had happened now finished, he sat straight up, causing a now relieved Hinata to sigh in gladness that he was fine. With love-stricken eyes, she smiled and blushed as she looked at him lovingly. Feeling certain uneasiness, Naruto motioned to talk to her.

"What's wrong Hinata-chan? Is there something on my face?"

The very puzzled Naruto asked. Surprised, Hinata quickly but shyly attempted to sway the conversation away so as to not reveal her well concealed thoughts to Naruto.

"N-n-no! N-nothings wrong. I…I-I'm just glad your fine, t-that's all."

She said as she stuttered and bowed her head in embarrassment as she bloomed once again. She was glad though that Naruto is still as dull as ever concerning feelings and emotions.

As she attempted once again to talk with him, the young blonde then quickly went over to her. She was startled by this turn of events. Her heart began to rise to her throat as her wide-eyed face began to turn red.

Naruto, more concerned at what he saw, spoke in hurried concern.

"Hinata-chan! You're hurt! Are you ok? Let me bandage that."

Said the noble blonde as he rushed to her aid.

Hinata snapped out of her worried conscience to look at what Naruto was implying had happened to her. When she looked at her right side, she saw a diagonal streak of red that started to flow from that side. She then knew that she was hurt from the fall into this cavern. She then began to contest to him saying,

"It's all right! I-I'm fine. It's just a scratch. W-what about y-you Naruto-kun? You took the full blow of the pit h-how c-come you're not hurt?"

She spoke in utter astonishment at how he was completely unglazed even though he took the direct blows from the fall.

Naruto then gave a sad look as he looked down realizing that there was no escaping the thought as he remembered why it was that way.

_'She won't understand. I can't tell her…'_

He thought to himself as he knew very well what disaster it could bring to those who knew. In order to lock away himself from that conversation, he then looked at her with a fox grin as he went over to bandage her wound saying,

"I'm fine Hinata-chan! It's always like this! As long as I get some decent rest, I can be fully healed in no time. You should be more concerned with your wounds."

He said as he began to disinfect and clean up her wound.

Hinata was not concerned with that though. To her, a minor flesh wound was nothing compared to never being able to voice out to him. More so, that he could not completely tell her anything. She now had her chance to be with him, yet he stayed so distant from her and kept things to himself. She then spoke out using all the courage she could muster and said,

"N-naruto-kun d-do you distrust me that much?"

These words…though soft and mellow when spoken, pierced straight into his heart. He never expected that to come from one his most trusted friends. He trusted everyone with his life, yet somehow she couldn't see that. In distress, he replied,

"I-Its n-nothing like that Hinata-chan! I really do trust you! You're one of my best friends even though we haven't gotten to know each other that well yet."

He said to the blue-haired woman in front of him while putting up a smile and ridiculously waving his hands around. Seeing this Hinata then sighed in relief again.

Feeling that he managed to save his relationship with her, he then turned over to look through his belt to see if there were anymore medical supplies with which he could help his female companion with. As he looked through, he attempted to speak more to get over his nervousness of the situation so he could calm down.

"Let's see here…Ahh! Hinata-chan, I think I can help heal your wounds with the stuff here. Good thing Ero-sennin always packed some emergency medical supplies in here. After we heal up you wounds, let's try to find a way out so we can regrou-"

He could not finish the last sentence when he turned around to face her. His heart began beating as fast as when he was sparring with his master Jiraya during their two and a-half year absence from the village. His body grew hotter and his grip on the bottle carrying the medical supply collapsed. His face started to blush as he was awestruck at what his cerulean eyes had gazed upon.

Hinata began to remove the bloody white coat and jacket, revealing her true form after those years the young blonde had been away. She wore a black tube that covered only her developed bust, revealing her slim yet curvaceous body. Curves were seen on her body in all the right areas. She had the body that even models would be envious of as her white skin complimented if not enhanced her sensual, womanly body.

To Naruto, he thought he was in a dream. It always struck him that Sakura was beautiful, but as he gazed upon the stunning vixen in front of him, he never imagined that this shy, strange girl was now a beautiful flower in full bloom. All he could think of as he saw her was,

_'beautiful…VERY… beautiful…'_

as he blanked out of his senses, blood dripped out of his nose. This caught the attention of Hinata. She panicked and turned steaming red in the face as she immediately faced her back towards him and attempted to cover her fleshy front as she said,

"A-ano…Y-your nose…"

She stuttered as she told him in embarrassment. Her heart had leaped out of her mouth. She never felt this embarrassed before. Naruto then realized that his nose began to flow with blood and he quickly covered it with some tissue from his pocket and turned around almost imitating Hinata's usual reactions to these kinds of situations; looking up with a very red face.

Naruto, still recalling the task he needed to accomplish, he started to ask Hinata,

"A-a-ano, Hinata…I-is it ok if I can bandage your wound?"

For the first time, Naruto stuttered like Hinata as he spoke to her.

She was quite surprised as Naruto was never this nervous around her. She felt that their roles had somehow been reversed.

'_Wow. He's stuttering like me. Is he that embarrassed? I guess he's that innocent. But that's a good thing though. After all, he is Naruto.'_

Inwardly, she began to laugh as she thought about his innocent nature. In an attempt to tease him further, she decided to make her voice more sensual to her partner's ears. She then seductively replied to him as she turned her head to face him,

"I don't mind at all…go ahead and do what you want with me…Na-ru-to-kun."

She said with an added wink and a sly smile. Her eyes showed an obvious lust for him, rather… a hunger for him.

Naruto was very embarrassed at this point. Not only was she luscious to his eyes, she was also teasing him and feigning innocence. He had never met a woman like this before who could be so foxy, yet so innocent and pure. His flustered face showed how uncomfortable he was with this.

'_Is this really Hinata? This feels…weird. Why am I getting all riled up inside? NO! k-keep c-calm. S-she has a w-wound! She needs healing!'_

Though Hinata just laughed at this, Naruto kept his emotions as controlled as possible as he went closer to her to bandage her wound. Though not fatal, he was still concerned for her well being. When he finally started to bandage her wound, his heart beat even more rapidly than before as he saw some of her skin and curves. His lungs began to tighten as he smelled her fragrance. She smelled like the Konoha Fire Lily that grows during the summer. It was an irresistible scent. His hands started developing a mind of their own as he struggled to lift his hands from her body when he had finished.

_'AAACCK! SHE'S TOO BEAUTIFUL! NO! SELF CONTROL NARUTO! SELF CONTROL!'_

Naruto thought to himself. His obvious battle against his flesh made her blush and chuckle as she saw it as nothing more than silliness.

"All done Hinata-chan, could you put back your jacket on…please?"

He said as he blushed more than ever. Hinata nodded in acknowledgement and did as he had asked of her.

_'I guess even Naruto-kun has his limits. Not that I mind though…WAIT! What are you thinking?'_

The naughty girl thought as she zipped up her jacket. When she felt she was in control once more, she turned around and started talking to the love of her life.

"N-naruto-kun, w-where do you think we are?"

She stuttered as she reverted back to her former persona.

"I'm not sure myself. But this place is quite amazing."

The young blonde replied as he looked around in amazement.

As they both looked around at were they were, they realized how beautiful the cavern was. Lining the cavern were several gigantic pillars of columns that were carved with beautiful engravings as well implying that people have lived here before. In fact, so many things in that cave had manmade structures that were carved directly from the cave itself or the boulders and crystals that were extracted from the cave were used to form them. A crystal clear river flowed in the center of the cave. It wasn't salt water, but it was drinkable, as Naruto proved it when he drank some. But what was most amazing was that the ceiling wasn't dark as the crystal outcroppings sparkled, illuminating the room. When they looked up to see it, it was just like gazing at the universe. At the same time, they both spoke up and said,

"Wow. It's amazing!"

It truly was amazing. It was as if they were looking directly at the night sky and there was no stony ceiling hovering above the astral plane. While they gazed at this marvelous wonder of nature, unknowingly to both of them, they were now holding hands as they explored the entire cave. Somehow, being together in this situation made things much easier for them to get such closeness.

Hinata was slightly worried though as they ventured in. But Naruto who still had that childlike boldness against fear, grabbed her by the hand and spoke to her.

"It's all right. I'll be here to protect you if anything happens."

He said with his fox grin all over his face. Hinata had never been this close to him ever. It never occurred to her that such a situation could ever happen to her. It was like a dream come true especially since she hasn't fainted even once.

Her heart began to trust him more and more as they explored through the mega structures and castle-like buildings. It very well reminded them of Konoha and how the planning of the structures was very similar. This thought had triggered the play button on their childhood years. As they both reminisced of their lives during their childhood, she started to gain confidence and began to open up to him more.

_'Naruto is holding my hand, yet I'm not scared or worried…I've never felt this way before, it's so wonderful to be next to him like this… it's just him and me, walking side by side into the unknown.'_

She thought to herself as a faint blush began to emerge on her face.

"Wow! I've never seen anything like it. Everything here is beautiful."

The excited blonde said as he grinned at the wonderful sight.

"I-it is i-isn't it?"

The shy Hyugga Hieress said, still stuttering. As the happy couple continued walking, Naruto looked over the young lady walking beside him. She was a sight to behold as he stared into her fully developed form. He then timidly said...

"Yup. By the way, uh, H-hinata-chan, h-how d-did y-you get so…fit?"

The young lady then blushed as she explained to him.

"D-do you remember when we went on that mission to find the Bikochu bug?"

The young blonde nodded and smiled as he said,

"How can I forget? You were amazing during that mission!"

"After that mission, I've been training myself hard everyday. That's how I got this fit. Do you like it Naruto-kun?"

She said as she winked and blushed at him while swaying her body more sensually. Her actions made the young blonde even more uneasy and blush much more.

"Y-ya! V-v-very much." '_What did I just say? What's wrong with you? How come I'm so nervous? I've never felt this way before towards her. She's a really good friend right? But is she more…'_

"Is something wrong Naruto-kun?"

Her sudden statement snapped the young blonde out of his trance. Never has Naruto been this flustered because of the young woman walking beside him. Thinking on his feet, Naruto replied.

"N-nothing Hinata-chan. Actually, I was remembering the time during that mission when I saw a beautiful girl doing ballet on the water when we made camp. She was so sexy and elegant. I thought I was dreaming at first until I fell in the lake and she ran off. I never got to see her clearly though."

Hinata blushed as she remembered that time. She then made a weak smile.

"Uhm…that girl you saw…that was me practicing…"

The two blushed as the looked down in opposite directions.

"R-really? W-wow…I never expected that…then again…y-you're full of surprises."

Said the now timid blonde as he begun to blush even brighter.

"I never expected you to see me that night. Especially since I was naked that time and just finished taking a bath."

The lavender-eyed girl said as she flustered a visible crimson on her face. Her cerulean-eyed counterpart did the same when he heard her words. There was a few seconds of silence before Naruto quickly faced her and smiled. This caught the timid girl off guard as she gazed into his eyes.

"You know Hinata-chan, your not stuttering anymore. In fact, you've been smiling the whole time and acting more confident."

Hinata's eyes grew wider as she realized what he said. He was right though. Somehow, she was growing out of her shell after spending some time with him. She then smiled even wider.

"I guess so...Thanks to you Naruto-kun." _'Yes, thanks to him, I'm able to be this happy.' _

Hinata's thoughts were clear as the sky. She really enjoyed being with him. Yet she had no idea if he enjoyed it as well. Her heart has now become tranquil enough for her to truly speak her mind with him just when they walked straight into the balcony of the largest structure in the cave. She then asked him as she turned her head towards him.

"Naruto-kun, are you enjoying this?"

She asked with a smile. Her smile became infectious and caused him to smile as well. He then replied.

"Yup, every moment of it. It's very breathtaking. Too bad we can't come back here though…it would have been really nice to take Sakura-san to see this."

Her heart sank as she heard those painful words from our young blonde hero. She felt as if she had died and resurrected to die once more. She clutched her chest as a sad expression filled her face. But her resolve was not broken. She then turned to face him. He in turn, predicting a question would be darted at him, faced her as well.

Time seemed to stop as they both looked each other eye to eye. Both gazes were met and it felt like a star in the universe was either going to be born or die. She formed her lips to speak while in her mind a thought raced…

_'I knew it…it was too good to be true, but even if that's the case, I don't want to regret not taking the chance anymore. This moment…these feelings…I want this to be real and not a dream. I want to be real to him so that he could be real to me I can tell he's been putting on a mask every time he's reminded of his past. I want to be there for him no matter what I…'_

She thought before she slowly released her sealed lips. Her heart raced with her mind as she began to utter words she had always wanted to say to him for a long time…

"Naruto-kun…"

She said as she waited on him to reply. She started to blush and dropped both her arms to her side. Feeling puzzled once more, the young blonde then asked.

"What is it Hinata-chan?"

This was it. It was a battle between her heart and mind. Her heart despaired to tell him her feelings for him, but her mind shuddered at the thought of receiving the reply. As such, she couldn't argue with her low self esteem, until now. It was a do or die situation were she knew it could very well hurt her if she found out the answer. With her heart worn on her sleeves, she then spoke.

"What am I to you…Naruto-kun?"

Naruto was surprised by this. For all his life with her and his peers, he saw her as a good friend and nothing more. But as he looked closer at her, he could see she was obviously hiding something that she never told him before. Before he could say anything, Hinata continued.

"I know you have a lot of secrets to hide, I know this because I know when you put up a fake smile because you never grew up with a family. But as your good friend, no…as more than a friend I want to share you mine so you don't have to worry anymore…so that you can have a friend to lean on to…so that you can feel that there is someone who cares for you…"

His eyes grew wide at what he heard. 'MORE than a friend' was a very strong word that triggered several swirls of emotions in his heart. He felt his lungs once again tighten. He became very anxious yet confused at what she meant. Hinata spent no time for him to ponder on. She then started to lay out everything to him.

"Naruto-kun…I…I…I've always admired you. You were my inspiration. You gave me the courage to go on and be myself. I always stalked you because I could never muster the courage to talk to you. But you were always able to do so to talk to me. I've always enjoyed being with you even though sometimes you act very silly. For so long it's been this way. And it hurts my heart whenever I see you constantly try to gain Sakura-san's heart. Because of that, I've trained hard to be better than her. I always wanted to know you more and find out everything about you and be with you though I had a hard time doing so."

Naruto had never expected this before. That someone could actually like him for him. It was right there in front of him. Always it has been this way yet he never noticed. His thoughts came crashing into his reality like lightning on a rock.

_'How could I have missed this all this time? All those times she was there stalking me, helping me, and attempting to comfort me…of course…like that time just before my match in the chuunin exams…or that mission to find the Bikochu…Wait! But then that means…'  
_  
Before he could speak, he paused to hear her next words. For if he was right it would drastically change their relationship forever.

"Naruto-kun…I…I…I…I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH! AND I ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL NO MATTER WHAT!"

She finally shouted out her true feelings to him. The endeavor however caused so much stress on her that she was about to collapse until the now speechless blonde caught her in his two arms. He knelt down to the ground, clutching her in his arms, both of them blushing, as his cerulean eyes met her lavender ones. He then was able to regain some consciousness to speak as he finally was able to digest all this information in his heart.

"Hinata…I…" _' What do I say to her? This is all so sudden. Yet somehow, it feels meant to be. I think I'm…falling…but it's so fast.'_

Stopping him from crafting any more words, she then put her middle and index finger to cover his lips. With a smile of content, she said,

Hinata: It's alright. You don't have to answer. But I needed to for a long time. It's been tugging my heart when I saw you again. I'm very happy to have been able to tell you. I hope you are satisfied to hear the truth in your heart. Because, my heart…Is now…Satisfied…

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I told you something would happen to them.

I'm still questioning if it is romantic enough though…I really want to make it as romantic as possible so that this and the next chapter have a tremendous impact on the story itself. Many are going to kill me in the next chapter I can guarantee it. I actually felt sad when I thought of it. But it's a better way to make it progress with a little drama.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter of Naruto: Death's Second Chance.


	4. Soul Sacrifice

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Ever since the attack of the Kyubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyubi Thinking'**_  


**Chapter 4**

_**Soul Sacrifice**_

A new journey begins…

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Naruto's heart began to pound faster as his mind couldn't completely comprehend the overflowing love that Hinata had for him. He began to grip her tighter and brought her face closer to his. They both blushed as he came closer to her. She never dreamed that this could ever happen to her. It was a fantasy turned real as the love of her life was falling for her.

_'This is it…Naruto-kun…I love you…please accept my love…'_

Hinata's mind raged with this thought. As for the young blonde however, it was an overwhelming moment as he realized that the true and faithful love he was looking for was woven together into the form of this bluish black haired woman lain in his arms waiting for him with an unwrapped heart ready to receive his steadily growing affections for her.

_'I can't believe this is happening. Hinata-chan loves me for me…'_

Naruto's thoughts were a swirl of emotions. Their lips were now poised towards one another as his cerulean eyes met hers. This was it. Their feelings and relationship would now be forever sealed together with this amorous act of love.

As their hearts now beat as one, Naruto then turned away from this time of beauty with his back facing her, leaving a deprived, disappointed yet confused soul. Hinata felt she killed a part of herself because of her actions. With a heart full of regret, and watering eyes, she then asked of him.

"Why? Is it because of me? I'm going too fast aren't I?"

Her question astounded the blonde for he knew the reason was quite contrary to her question of concernment. He then somberly explained to her.

"It's not you Hinata, it's me. I don't want to end up hurting you. I have a lot going on right now and I'm still confused about all this honestly."

With a sigh of relief, she then wiped the tears streaming from her bluish white eyes as she leaned on his back, wrapping her gentle arms around his stomach. She then softly confessed to him,

"I see…I guess things got out of hand too quickly. It was too good to be true. After all that I said to you and acted while we were here, it feels like it's not the real me that's been doing all this."

Her words however did not connect in Naruto's mind. He then turned around and held her by the shoulders as he said to her,

"I don't think so. I think that the Hinata that I see now is the real one who gave comfort to me and tried to be there for me and fight with me all the way here. That Hinata wasn't afraid to be herself. That Hinata was the one I admired the most. I really don't know how to explain it but, to me the you I see now, is the you I've always wanted."

Like the violent flood of a broken dam, his words had shattered the barrier to this passionate woman's heart. She could no longer control herself and dove into him while hugging him so tight that movement could no longer be done by him. Seeing the situation he was in, he blushed, but gladly returned her affections for him with his own hug.

Both hearts beat as one. But so did their minds...connected and entwined together as Naruto and Hinata thought in unison.

'_Hinata-chan…I'm…'_

_'So very happy right now. It's like a…'_

_'Fantasy…like a fairy tale where the prince meets his princess and they both fall in…'_

_'Love…yes, love…for so long I've waited for him to accept…'_

_'Me…and love me for me…this is the greatest time of my…'_

_'Life…'_

A magical moment it was as both were in each other arms with Hinata's head buried in Naruto's chest as they hugged each other passionately. However like all good things, they must come to an end.

Unknown to the two lovebirds that were in this gloomy castle-like structure, the darkness released from its shadowy prison several creeping figures to wreak havoc and forever change this couple's destiny.

In the shady hallways, if one would listen closely, the sound of silence wasn't the only thing that could be heard. In the midst of the eerie silence, the soft landing of metal upon the stony flooring echoed throughout the area.

The noise resonated closer and closer towards the balcony where the lovebirds resided until it was now audible to their human ears. The bloodthirsty killing intent that emanated from the shadowy figures began to shock their spines into sudden awareness.

With their hardened years of training, they sensed the impending danger and leapt back as they reached with their right hands for the pouch of kunai strapped to their right legs.

Like the quick draw of a professional gunman, they threw their kunais with lethal aim on the walking figures in the dark and landed on their two feet with kunais drawn in a reverse grip as the prepared for combat. They knew very well that they got them but were unprepared for what stepped through the light pouring in the balcony to meet them.

It was nothing of this world. When the figures had revealed themselves in the light, the shinobi couple saw that they were nothing more than crimson colored and bare samurai armors that were fastened together like there was an invisible soldier wearing them.

Naruto wondered how such things could be possible.

They were shinobi capable of great things, but completely unprepared by the ghastly sight before them.

The armors however gave no time for him or his mate to ponder as they wildly assaulted them with their steel swinging left and right.

Being their agile selves, the pair leaped off and nimbly landed on the rooftops of the structures below the balcony. The armors gave chase as they followed them towards the streets until at a corner, they lost track of them.

The walking shells of armor were confused as they looked left and right for them. Little did they know that above them were two falling bodies that landed on them with fist and foot outstretched to give them blow for blow as they commenced their counter-offensive on their would be executioners.

Hinata gave strike for swing as she blocked and countered each of their attacks with her own giving double the dosage of damage which shattered their steel and armor alike.

Naruto in turn, danced around their blades and struck them down with full force like an uncontrollable hurricane.

The steel of their swords seemed ineffective to these bags of flesh that toyed with them as if they were nothing more than children swinging twigs at them only to be broken with each assault that the pair made towards them.

But the unfeeling crimson warriors didn't relent from their assault as they began to surround them in hopes of at least touching them. In fact, they still vastly outnumbered them because some of their fallen comrades still got up from absorbing the damage made on them to continue fighting as if unfazed.

The two were forced by the change of pace towards the center were they stood back to back. Both sharpened their senses as they focused with seriousness and a killing intent that neutralized their enemies'. The rhythm of their battle would soon go in favor of these arcane warriors.

"Looks like our first date wasn't completely romantic eh Hinata-chan?"

Said the smirking blonde to his lavender eyed counterpart.

"I guess not."

Replied the focused Hinata.

Feeling the need to gather information on their enemy, Hinata used the **Byakugan** in order to see what exactly their enemy was. Her paled face showed that they were more than meets the eye. This was reflected in her ghastly reply as she said,

"This can't be happening! They're living souls in each of the armors! Real living ones complete with chakra coils!"

Her statement did not bode well for them. 'How can you hit what you can't see?' was the dilemma until Naruto, while still back to back, noticed that some of the crumbling slabs of steel didn't get up at all from the blows Hinata sent them.

With his fox grin written on his face at this realization, he formulated a plan as he whispered in Hinata's ears while blocking a downward slash with his kunai in his right hand as he dug his stance deeper by widening his legs more to completely halt the full power of the attack.

Hinata prepared herself for his plan as she nodded to him while guarding against a side slash towards the left side of her waist. Seizing this priceless chance, one of the armors came at them with a diagonal downward slash starting from left to right as he cleaved through both of their flesh only to realize that they vanished into smoke.

Confused once again, they looked around until it was too late for the phantom swordsmen as they felt the chakra enforced palm strikes from several clones of the kunoichi and the blunt but efficient blows of Naruto's fists and kicks.

His plan was deadly effective as they began to fall in their numbers. Using this sudden advantage, they broke through to get to a more advantageous position for them to fight in.

They fought their way through the thick tide of empty steel as they pushed forward until they found themselves just in front of a red shrine gate.

This gate was at the very top of the stone carved steps at the end of the unknown street they had burst their way through. On its floor was an engraved circle that connected to an engraved kanji for love and the infinity symbol above it. These engraved symbols were also connected to a shallow ditch.

Obviously, they were in a sacrificial pit, but nonetheless ignored it as they began to come up with a plan to fight off the now growing army of specter possessed Japanese armor.

Naruto stood as still as a statue with his gaze fixated at the massive corps of otherworldly soldiers climbing the only leading stairway towards the couple. Seeing their enemies' sloppy defenses and crammed formation, Naruto leaped into the air and called out thirty **Kage Bunshins **In a way that one was close to another.

The thirty clones of him began to each form a **Rasengan** in the right hand of the other.

When they completed it in no less than a second, their free partner grabbed the armed ones and threw them directly at the armor spirits.

With **Rasengan** spearheading headfirst into the thick mob of armors, they rained on them like the bombardment of artillery.

When they remaining clones and the original landed, the clones took this forced opportunity and grabbed the steels of the fallen adversaries as they charged and gave steel for steel towards the broken lines of the nightmare warriors. This was as good as it could get or so it would seem.

Needless to say, wave after wave kept pouring in to devour our bold lovers.

"Kuso, they just won't stay down!"

Naruto cursed as the army kept pacing forward. He then made ten more clones that formed a pair of **Rasengans** in each hand and drove like a drill on the wall of steel before them. The last pair of the clones of ten was an exception as they formed a much bigger one carried by the right hand of one and the left of the other as they charged into the fray screaming **"Odama Rasengan".**

When Hinata, while still in defensive stance, saw this, she then thought of an ingenious way to combine his and her techniques together in a combination that would literally annihilate their vastly superior foes.

With her **Byakugan **still active, she then looked at Naruto with her vein throbbing face and commanded him promptly.

"Naruto-kun, I have an idea! Make two more clones and form the **Odama Rasengan** with you kneeling down in the center to support it!"

Hearing her clear commands, he did as she barked at him while kneeling on his left foot at the first stair below them with both arms risen up towards the sky, while the other two clones began shaping their weapon of mass destruction above their creator's hands.

When the ball of swirling energy had fully formed at maximum concentration point, Hinata took her stance once more just arms-length behind the weapon as she took a deep breath.

She focused her chakra towards her palms as she began the technique. She coiled her two palms into 'tiger fists' once more with her right leg back and her left leg raised so that her knee is parallel to her midsection.

With her poise complete, she then let her left foot down as she pushed hard her two arms forward while shouting,

"**Hakke Hazengeki!"**

A sudden blast of a pressurized mixture of air and chakra sent the giant ball of energy towards the unsuspecting crimson colored steel clad foes. It literally bulldozed the enemy and exploded into a mini maelstrom that grinded all those caught in its vacuum grip into dust.

"Yata! We did it Hinata-chan!"

He said joyfully as nothing from the rubble left behind twitched in the slightest bit.

It was over.

Serenity came like the peace before a storm until that storm followed after in the form of a new batch of the soul bound armors came marching which dampened their relieved spirits.

These ones however were different in that they had little openings for the emptiness of their shells to be seen. Their armor was plated in a more western form though still retaining their Japanese structure. They even had the symbol of the black phoenix imprinted on their matching colored flags at their back and breastplate. They not only carried the same katana as their fallen comrades, but they even had large rectangular shields that covered them from neck to foot with the infinity symbol and kanji for love as its insignia.

"All that and there's still more? We must have defeated about a little over five battalions by now!"

The exhausted Hyuga shouted as she steeped herself in her **Juuken** stance.

"I guess they want more then."

The smiling blonde said as they gazed over the marching army. The army gave no room for remorse as they marched over the remains of their comrades to take the lives of the pair at the top of the stone stepped shrine.

Despite the continuous bravado that our favored heroes proved time and again to be effective upon these emotionless spirits, it seemed that their limits must be surpassed in order to even stand a chance against them. They steeled their hearts and calmed their minds to once again gamble with death.

Naruto once again spoke to his female companion.

"These must be the elite of the army. I bet if we manage to go through this, the boss will appear and we can be free of this almost eternal nightmare."

His words were inspirational yet somewhat ineffective to his companion's ears as the enemy before them climbed their way to the top, stepping on broken steps and the bodies of their comrades.

Gloom was all that they could imagine at this point.

Picking up the sword of a nearby fallen foe, Naruto stood poised and ready to strike as he fell into a sloppy sword defensive position.

Hinata stood firm as she braced herself to fend off the wild attacks that would definitely fall upon her.

As the final moments before the massive melee began, Naruto then ran close to her and softly spoke.

"It's all right Hinata. We'll make it… I promise."

With the death of his last sentence, came the death of another phantom soldier as Naruto gave him a clean slice from the soul disrupting blade.

With the speed of the assualt, they were given no chance to use any form of jutsus except taijutsu at this point.

For Hinata, it was just like sparring with Tenten as her **Juuken** style was very effective on her armor clad foes.

Naruto, though not used to fighting with a sword, had no choice in the matter as it was the only thing aside from his **Rasengan **that could affect his opponents.

_'If I wasn't so tired and cramped by their numbers, I could make several more __**Kage Bunshins**__ to even the odds.'_

As the battle raged onward, they began to breathe heavily and their concentration now waned as beads of sweat flowed down their face. Naruto started to notice his hands twitching continuously. His thoughts began to gain weight as he began to think more out of context.

_'I've never fought this many opponents before. And to make matters worse, only this sword and Hinata's fighting style could actually affect them. Hinata…NO! KEEP FOCUSED! WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE HERE! NOWS NOT THE TIME TO…'_

Before he could linger in his mind any further, he then felt a huge killing intent behind him.

As the opponent before him attempted a strike, he immediately made a two-handed side slash from right to left and in one flowing motion, dashed backwards while changing his sword grip into a reversed one, and stabbed with his left hand the swordsman before a downward killing blow could've been sent to the young blonde.

He smirked as he felt the blade pass through the phantom's heart and out the other end until the katana guard made contact with his armor and could move no further.

The young blonde smirked again knowing how he easily banished this emotionless soul to the depths of hell.

But his sword took not just one life, but two instead. He felt something else had passed through the blade as he felt a familiar chakra signature suddenly die away… fast.

His heart beat furiously at the possibility of the worst to come.

As he turned his head to look at where his sword had touched, he sighed in relief as he saw the blade skewered the crimson armor crumbling into nothing more than heavy slabs of steel as the bond between soul and host was cut off.

But his sigh of relief, slowly became wide-eyed horror, as the same color on the armored phantom he killed, was now flowing on the edge of the blade and on the jacket of Hinata.

His heart died at that moment and felt that time had slowed as he saw her fall into the shallow ditch that she was standing on. Only one word was permitted by his mouth to utter at that dark moment. That word was cried by his mouth as he screamed.

"HINATAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

The hulking armors had cancelled their attack as they sheathed their swords and fell in line by the stairs.

They then kneeled on their right knee with their right arm grasping their left one, their left still grasping their shield or supporting their right hand if they had none, and their heads bowed in acknowledgement as they chanted in chorus.

"The sacrifice…the sacrifice…the sacrifice…"

Naruto's world had been shattered at this point. Many lives were lost in his past, but none as this one who truly loved him for him.

His heart sunk into the bottomless pit called sadness and despair as he dropped the tainted blade and clutched her in his shaking arms.

The scarlet water began to taint his hands and soil his clothes as he hugged his dying bride to be and screamed in horror.

"NO! WHY NOW, WHY? WHAT HAVE I DONE?"

As he mourned over her fleeting life, the red water began to flow into the ditch that then filled the engraved areas on that altar. When the engraved symbols on the floor of the red shrine were filled to the brim with her blood, the space between the columns of the gate began to distort.

When the remaining soldiers noticed this, they unsheathed their swords once again and raised it to the sky as they stopped their unison chants.

The spatial distortion began to widen into a rip in the very fabric of time. It shone in a bright blue light until a figure came out walking towards the grieving blonde.

He was a fiery red haired young bishonen of average stature. His eyes had the color of gold that pierced through the darkness like a spear. He wore the same crimson armor of the elites except for the helmet and shield as he had none. In his left hand was a doubled edged sword of about the length of his arm from the hilt tip to the point of his steel. The hilt was tightly wrapped in red and the guard was in the shape of a black phoenix. Its blade was the lightest shade of pink mixed with the color of steel and glows in a red aura. But what were most amazing about him were the awe inspiring wings of fire on his back that had a twelve feet wingspan from end to end. He was no ordinary being.

As this young red head gazed upon his summoner, he then spoke with a voice full of authority and tranquility.

"I am Suzaku of the five elemental gods of the earth. I am the phoenix of passion and love. Who might you be that I might acknowledge for my freedom through this sacrifice?"

Spoke the red haired man. The blonde's ears despite his torn state, grasped every word that this godly man had spoken.

As he looked at his surroundings, he then realized what had happened. His pit of despair now rose into flames of anger and regret as they began to fill his heart.

His whisker cheek marks grew deeper and darker. His mouth now had lined in black as his canines grew longer and sharper than ever. As his hair began to spike more radically in expression of his heightened emotions, while his once cerulean eyes now were red and its pupils were slit.

This angered beastly form of Naruto emanated a dark malicious desire to kill all that stood in his path. The beast then growled his words at the man,

"Uzumaki Naruto. What do you mean by sacrifice? Are you saying that Hinata life was necessary to release you? WHAT DO YOU MEAN!!!!"

Obviously his angered state had lack of rational as he barked the last words. But the stalwart Suzaku remained calm and stared deeper into his eyes. He was reading the pain and emotional struggles that the blonde had suffered. In short, he was reading his life.

When he had finished his analysis of him, he then softly spoke to him in order to share the inevitable truth.

"I see you have gone through a lot. Love had not touched your heart. As the god over love, I feel your sympathy. Especially since your body contains two spirits, o great Jinchuuriki of the Kyubi no Yoko."

_'How does he know me?'_

The despaired blonde thought to himself.

The fiery, red haired bishonen's words sliced Naruto's mind in two. Seeing the blonde's staggered state, he then continued to speak.

"Your woman became the sacrifice necessary to release me from my one thousand year prison the moment she had confessed her love for you. My soldiers who were bound with me felt this and made the necessary actions to merge the both of you in this altar. One soul full of love was needed for me to take shape in the form you see now. Behind me is the gateway out of this magically sealed prison. Since I needed only one, you may go and finish your life story ahead."

His last two sentences were direct and straight to the point. Naruto then started to lose his mind at that because he said it as if he didn't care. God or not, he wanted her back and angrily asked of the god before him.

"How can you just say that and expect me to follow? My life was a wreck from the beginning. It was hell living like this everyday. Nobody liked me. In fact, a lot of people hated me and always beat me up until an inch of my life whenever they got a chance to, all for the reason that 'I was the kyubbi incarnate'. Though I had friends who steadily began to like me, I still didn't have someone who would be with me and love me for me no matter what! When I finally found that person, she just died by my own hand. Am I that evil that I didn't deserve love like that at all?! Give her back to me now! I NEED HER!"

He poured his heart out with tears of blood streaming from his face from the stress that he felt at that time.

While Naruto was crying in blood, the fiery bishonen's thoughts were filled with sadness.

_'I had expected this to happen. The poor boy has suffered enough. Unfortunately, fate has its own twisted sense of judgment. The penalty for my release was high enough, but of all people, the mate of the most powerful jinchuuriki on earth. What is Kami up to?_

While the blonde and the red head were glaring each other, a soft touch from a hand cupped Naruto's left cheek in efforts to wipe his tears of blood.

When Naruto felt this he left his blazing gaze and looked down on the woman in his arms.

All this time she was still breathing. She heard and saw everything that Naruto had done and spoken at this moment.

Her eyes had gazed upon his red slit ones. She made a weak smile as she touched his face while blood streamed from her mouth all the way to the blood filled ditch.

She used the last of her strength and uttered her final words of endearment.

"This is the reason you didn't want to share your secrets to me. I understand now. All those times you were hated, scorned, beaten and tortured and only you know what else happened. It all makes sense now. But, I really care about you Naruto. It doesn't matter to me if you were the kyubi or not. You are _**you**_. And I care about you that I would gladly die for you like this. Please don't regret anything anymore. Don't wallow in sadness. It's not like you to always be this sad. Go with Sakura-san. She can love you for you now. I'm just happy that I can see the real you. Because…"

She said to him as she brought his face closer to hers. Softly and lovingly, she then whispered to his lips, once more, the greatest words that would impact Naruto's life.

"Aishiteru… Naruto-kun"

With that said, she sealed it with a deep kiss. It was a fragile yet wonderful moment. Her tongue attempted to gain entry which he permitted and made the same move as well. Both were battling for dominance and massaging the tongue of the other for a whole minute as their lips locked.

Their hearts beat as one as their feelings reached each other for the first…and last time at that moment.

Her hands then dropped to the blood filled floor now lifeless.

She had finally passed on in peace signified by the smile on her face.

Naruto then relieved himself from the kiss of death as he said his feelings towards her lifeless body with tears streaming down his eyes.

"Aishiteru… Hinata-chan"

He then laid her body down in the blood filled ditch as he grabbed the tainted sword next to him in a reverse grip and kneeled down in a traditional Japanese fashion while pointing the blood tipped steel towards his chest.

Suzaku then barked in distress to the saddened jinchuuriki, as he leaped in to action.

"YAGERO NARUTO! ONLY ONE WAS NEEDED! DON'T DO IT OR ELSE SOMETHING BA-"

Before he could finish his sentence and grab the blonde, Naruto who was filled with regret and sadness could not take it anymore and readied himself for the next world as he said before stabbing the sword down his chest.

"I'm coming…Hinata-chan."

The sword then released his two spirits in a wild flash of blue and red.

As his blood overflowed the filled engravings on the altar, the engraved symbol for infinity and kanji for love began to glow blue.

The engraved overflowing circle glowed in the same color as the blood of both lovers mixed together in perfect harmony.

The distortion then filled the altar as a magical circle appeared on the floor and glowed in the same color.

The two spirits in Naruto's body then flew into the time and space wormhole intertwining each other like a rope would as they passed through towards the gleaming light at the end of the astral tunnel.

This marked the end of Naruto's life as he had died there.

But the moment he passed on, it marked the beginning of a new journey.

I, Suzaku, now am to bear witness and account the story of this great man and his journey in death and his afterlife.

Sacrifices are made so something in return can be given. For Hinata's love, I was set free.

From Naruto's death, the journey towards love and redemption was reopened for his soul sacrifice.

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This is a sad chapter. Is it sad enough though? This chapter needs to be sad enough to make the next chapters even more thrilling.

I can already expect some flames in this one. Please review this one so I know how to improve the next chapter.

For those who are wondering, Suzaku is a made up character based on the Vermillion Bird. Don't think there's Fushigi Yuugi in this.

Thank you once again for reading another one of my chapters in Naruto: Death's Second Chance.


	5. Rebirth

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Ever since the attack of the Kyubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyubi Thinking'**_  


**Chapter 5**

_**Rebirth**_

As the story continues…

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A bright flash of white light blinded Naruto's eyes before he could come into consciousness.

"Ughhh...my head...so this is what death feels like..."

His mind, though battered by the psychological stress that accompanied his pilgrimage into the next world, still remained stable as he could now make out his surroundings from his bedside position.

His cerulean eyes gazed at what was in front of him. He saw a green straw built ceiling with wooden frames that separated the interwoven mats into several blocks that lined the entire ceiling. In the center of the ceiling was a traditional western fan lamp that made a familiar whistling sound as the blades passed by.

To his right was a small table with six mats around it and a small dresser at the corner with a vase full of a familiar blooming flower.

_'Not what I expected. Death sure is...traditional.'_

As he looked to his left, he saw a pond in the middle of a traditional Japanese garden and a man staring at the sky with his back turned to him. The blonde's gaze gained focus as he concentrated on the figure in the classical beauty of the garden.

He had gray hair standing up in two directions. His haori was pure white as the clouds he gazed upon in bliss with a rhombus lined in black with the kanji of five in its center. The only thing familiar with his attire that could be seen were his shinobi sandals and bandaged legs that held his black hakama from hiding his lower legs as a slight breeze picked up and blew his coat.

The man now could feel his now conscious guest of honor gaze upon his backside telling him that he was up and ready to talk to him. With a big sigh, he then spoke to the blonde.

"The gardens here are much better and cleaner than in Konoha. It's a shame Naruto that we could only breathe this air here than at the top of the highest peak of the Konoha Monument or see such a beautiful garden than the ones growing at the back of the Hokage tower."

This statement sparked in the blonde's mind a nostalgic image. Somehow this man knew him from a previous life yet though vaguely familiar; he still could not pinpoint who it was.

_'Who is he? He knows my name. He must be someone who died and had lived in Konoha during my lifetime. Hmm…wait! Then that could mean he's…'_

The blonde's thoughts were as sharp as ever even in death. As he stood up and walked behind him. He then took a deep breath to refresh his lungs with the clear crisp air in this new dimension. With a feeling of freshness, he then spoke to the now recognizable man.

"It sure is eh… Sarutobi oji-san."

His remark had touched the heart of the kind old man who was once the sandaime of Konoha as he turned his wrinkled face to meet his with a sad smile.

It was obvious that he had hoped he didn't see his favorite loud-mouthed, hyperactive and ambitious genin come to this world at such a young age.

As the aging wise old sage and young blonde sat down in front of the pond, they began to chat about their surroundings and reminisce on their past lives like it was a regular day in Konoha when Naruto wasn't doing any pranks or training.

Eventually, the conversation drifted towards how they both entered into this new and exciting realm.

"Oji-san…I get the idea how you got here because you died fighting Orochimaru. But, I want to know how I got here and why you're wearing those clothes."

Naruto had much to learn and didn't hesitate as he asked the wise, old man for him obtain answers that could or would blow his mind. As the former sandaime closed his eyes, he then told the puzzled blonde everything that had happened to him.

_Flashback_

_The intertwined spirits had merged into one as they exited the tunnel into the next life. At the gaping void of the wormhole formed in the dimension of the afterlife, a flash of light beamed right through the dimensional barrier of the heavily fortified walls of the city encased in it. The jinchuuriki's entry however did not go unnoticed._

_Just as he entered into the next life through the dimensional void, in an enclosed room filled with electronic equipment and several computers and monitors, a beeping sound could be heard as the normally dormant system locomotioned into overdrive._

_"Someone has entered the dimensional barrier!"_

_The brown haired girl said as she looked into the primary monitor indicating their position._

_"What? How did that happen? Is this Aizen's counteroffensive already?"_

_Asked a fatter one as he got up from his chair and looked into the monitor._

_"No. The reiatsu signature is strong but it's far too raw to be a Hollow or Shinigami."_

_The brown haired girl replied as she estimated the composition reiatsu from her computer._

_"Exactly how raw and how powerful?"_

_Asked another as he awaited the brown haired girl's answer. She quickly ran through some tests as she typed away. Her investigation proved some incredible results as she said,_

_"No Way! Its one hundred percent raw and currently almost as powerful as the sotaicho!"_

_The nearest one to the screen then barked without hesitation._

_"Alert all divisions to prepare for battle NOW!"_

_Without a moments notice, every division began to ring their alarm bells to warn the inhabitants of the impending danger._

_The inhabitants below begun to panic as they each hurried into defensive manuevers to protect themselves from whatever alien that would come to wreak havoc and pain upon them. _

_While outside they were poised for battle, one hurried inside a narrow hallway and stopped at the open entryway as he bended on one knee and reported to the man in the office in front of him._

_"__So__taicho__ Yamamoto-Genryūsai__! A powerful ryoka has effortlessly broken through the barrier of Seireitei and has landed in the execution chamber!"_

_The blue-haired man's report caused the aging yet firm old man to rise from his seat as his beard hung reaching his chest. The old man, picked up his wooden cane at his left side and immediately lifted his right hand to the kneeling man in front of him and with eagle eyes, barked at him._

_"SEND FOR ALL THE GOTEI 13 CAPTAINS TO MEET ME AT THE SITE AT ONCE TO CAPTURE HIM!"_

_The blue haired man bowed his head in resignation as he replied,_

_"HAIT, SOTAICHO!"_

_With the curt reply of the kneeling man to the commander, he then vanished in a blur and did as he was commanded._

_On top of the barren and dead hill where the unconscious body of the blonde lay, several figures in white haoris with a black lined rhombus and the kanji of numbers from one to thirteen on their backs respectively, cautiously approached the seemingly lifeless body of the young blonde as a breeze swept by and brushed the dust of the wasted cliff and the blonde locks of hair on the sleeping adolescent._

_"So one human got through the barrier. This should be exciting."_

_One of the figures said. The woman next to him however just rolled her eyes and sighed._

_One of the figures that approached the unconscious blonde however, recognized the boy and the several red tails underneath him as he instinctively went over to the body and carried him in his arms._

_"No one touches him!"_

_He shouted at the rest of his colleagues with his cerulean eyes piercing a cold stare of concern and intimidation as the breeze lightly swept his long blonde locks of hair towards the right. All except Sarutobi and __Yamamoto-Genryūsai took a step back in fear of this man. they could tell that his eyes just said 'leave us alone or die'. _

_The commander__ stared hard at the man before drifting his gaze to the young blone in his arms. His eyes grew wider as he saw a patch of red fur being clumsily hidden by the man carrying the lad. It was then that he immediately knew what the connection between the boy and his newly appointed captain of the third division was. Armed with this knowledge he then spoke to his suboordinates._

_"Very well then. All of you return to your posts except for the third and fifth division commanders! I will have a word with these two in my office."_

_They all bowed in agreement as they returned to their posts to restabilize their environment except for the four sentients that entered the commander's office to speak further concerning this scandalous event._

_Sarutobi sat in one chair opposite to the seat of the commanding officer in his paperwork-filled desk__ and the larger version of the rhombus at the wall with the kanji for one in it. In his mind, he understood what it felt to be seated in front of the Hokage like this it was quite ironic. To his companion on his left though, it was the worst of times as the man cradled the young blonde in his arms._

_The commander gave no room for hesitation as he calmly interrogated his newly appointed captains._

_"Judging by your reactions a while ago, I can tell he is someone of importance from your past lives. May I inquire as to who he is so we can straighten this matter up?"_

_The__ two captains looked at each other with fright knowing that their commander was not a very tolerant man. He was known for his unreal strength but never his mercy. They sharpened their gaze and nodded at each other before turning to their chief of staff while swallowing hard to tell him the truth without regard to the utter consequences._

_Sarutobi then cleared his throat as he spoke._

_"The truth is—"_

_The older blonde didn't hesitate as he cut off Sarutobi's words when he spoke in his place._

_"Sotaicho, he is my son, Namikaze Naruto. I sealed the soul of the Kyubi no Yoko into his body so that it could no longer tear down the homes of my people in Konohagakure no Soto. He is the reason that Kushina and I am here in Soul Society in the first place. I expected to see him here in my old age at the least, but I see him here now in his youth."_

_The blonde haired man said while tears streamed down his face as he filled in for Sarutobi. It was better if he explained it as it was his son that he cradled. After all, he is family the commander would understand right?_

_The commander slumped in his c__hair allowing the sun from the right side of the room to shine on his cross scarred bald head as he buried his brow in thought. After what seemed like eternity, the commander then ordered the two captains._

_"Very well then. If he is your son then he may stay in your house. But I wish to speak to you as well and the boy when he wakes up and is ready to speak. So don't be late…Namikaze Minato."_

_The blonde haired man then rose his gaze from a downpoured state into a smile of joy at the wonderful news. Sarutobi also felt this sudden burst of joy since he spent most of the boy's childhood taking care of him and watching him grow like he was his own grandson. Before they let their swirl of elation get to them, they respectfully bowed and left. _

_When they had left the spacious office, the commander then made a weak smile as he said to himself._

_" Ahh how good it is to be young"…'but he didn't have to hide the other one with him'_

_When the two captains had finally reached the third division's post, they were promptly greeted with a bow of respect by the lieutenant of Namikaze Minato, as they entered the bedroom overlooking the garden and lay Naruto down in the prepared futon by Minato's fukutaicho. As they looked in endearment of the boy, the subordinate then asked his superior._

_"Is their anything else that I can do for you taicho?"_

_The blond haired lieutenant asked. His hair covered half of his left face and was shoulder length at the back.He wore a black hakama and kimono with a white armband carrying the division symbol for three and a sheathed katana in his left side of his waist. _

_"No, thank you Izuru__. That will be all. Sarutobi, my friend, please watch him while I go look for Kushina to tell her of the news."_

_Both men nodded as the blonde haired man blurred away._

_End of Flashback_

Back in real time…Naruto's eyes grew wide like saucers at the startling revelation. He never expected that the yondaime was the one who trapped the kyubbi in him and furthermore, his biological father. In fact, to add to that bit of information, the culture shock that surrounded him began to burn our hero's young mind.

Naruto then turned to face the old man and stuttered to the old man beside him.

"O-oji-san, I…I…I…"

Sarutobi then held Naruto down as he attempted to stop him from panicking as he said to him with all seriousness.

"Calm yourself Naruto. Take it easy. Take several deep breaths so we can straighten things up. I know how you feel since everything is so sudden, but you just recovered from what I believe was a painful entry into this world."

Seeing Sarutobi's compassion for him, he then did as he was told. His heartbeat finally slowed down. His mind began to cool off as he closed his eyes to soften the storm in his head.

"Thank you Oji-san. I really needed that."

"No problem Naruto."

The wise old warrior said as he smiled.

As they sat down in the glimmering garden, fleeting footsteps could be heard getting closer and louder as it passed by until they heard the sudden swing of the sliding door open wide to reveal a beautiful woman panting with a shade of red on her face.

The two former shinobi turned their heads to see the alarmed woman at the door. Naruto was shocked at seeing this beauty that had barged in unanounced while Sarutobi just looked with a smile of content.

The beautiful white-skinned lady looked to be in her mid-twenties and was slightly taller than Naruto. She had deep-seated purple eyes that complemented her crimson colored hair tied neatly in a bun at the back and fastened securely with two silver chopsticks so the ends of the hair would stand up a little while her front bangs were parted slightly to curve her cheek and two locks hung behind her ears at shoulder length. She wore a slightly loose sleeveless shihakushō to show her ample bust size and the hakama had openings in the side that ran from her waist towards the middle of her upper thighs to reveal the skin on her legs. Her lower legs were tied with bandages in the same fashion as Sarutobi with a matching pair of shinobi sandals and a black choker on her neck. She had a wakizashi tied at her back. Its hilt was wrapped in orange cloth while its guard was the normal square type and its sheath black.

The stunning beauty then fixed her gaze on the young blonde in front of her. Her eyes began to water as she ran to him screaming his name. when she got into arms-length of him, she jumped and grabbed him. Coincidentally, they both fell into the pond.

As she squeezed the life out of him, she then joyfully kept on saying,

"Naruto! My Naruto! My baby boy! I've missed you so much!"

As she snuggled into his blonde locks of hair, Sarutobi began to pry him out of her clutches in order to save what was left of the sufficating boy.

When the former sandaime finally released the blonde from his awkward prison, the young blonde then blushed with his jaw open and pointed his finger at the red haired woman as he stuttered,

"W-who a-are you?!"

Said Naruto as he climbed out of the pond, sitting on the now soaking grass.

The red-haired woman realized that he could not recognize her at all seeing as he has never met her before. She then crept out of the pond, soaking wet with her hair undone, and told him with all her emotions let loose as she hugged him with his face half buried in her busom.

"Naruto, I am your mother…Uzumaki Kushina…all this time while I was here awaiting for you to come one day so we can be reunited as one family after the kyubi seal finally came to an end…I really…missed you. I only got to see your face once before they sent you to the sealing chamber after that I just waited here in death."

His ears could not believe him. Yet somehow, as he felt the softness of her chest, he could feel no lust or romantic feelings towards this fully blossomed flower. He could feel it in him. That parental love that he longed for so long. And that gut feeling that 'she was definitely telling the truth'.

The young blonde was like a helpless lamb as he cried and quickly hugged her tightly. He felt her warm embrace filled his empty soul as he cried and cried and cried.

Sarutobi just stood there looking at them with a smile as he put his haori around them to prevent them from catching a cold due to their sudden outbreaks of emotion.

Nostalgia came upon him as he said,

"A Happy reunion in death. Karma sure is ironic."

While the mother and son sat there, soaking wet, beside the pond, a tall man in the slightly similar outfit as Sarutobi, walked in towards the light of the sun.

He had long, spiky blonde hair and the same cerulean eyes as Naruto. In fact, the resemblance between them is too obvious to deny. He wore a sleeveless version of the haori with the black lined rhombus on its back with the kanji for three witten on it. He wore the traditional black kimono and hakama except the top was left to hang over his obi which revealed his tight long-sleeved black undershirt. His lower attire was the same as Sarutobi's except he had three kunai pouches strapped with a white sash on both leg to contrast the color of the shihakushō and the katana attached to his back with a blue sash and the Konoha symbol engraved on the hilt.

The blond haired man then stopped just at the wooden flooring that went around the edges of the post and grinned as he said to them.

"Yare, Yare. Starting the family reunion without me eh?"

Naruto then recognized the man as they turned to look at him in response to his question.

The light feelings of happiness and bliss suddenly died as soon as it came up when he saw the man who put him through so much pain for all his life.

He knew that he meant well, but his saddened heart did not as his eyes turned into the dereaded scarlet slit ones while at the same time, his fangs and claws grew. His whisker birthmarks became deeper and wider as his blonde hair became more feral with rage.

Sarutobi became very alarmed as he knew what was going on. But before he could act, Naruto ran with a feral speed as he attempted to wound the man in front of him.

Kushina could only watch in fright as her son assaulted her husband. But before Naruto could reach his father's throat, a lash from a red blur sent him flying into the pond once more.

They were all shocked at what just happened.

The former yondaime just sighed as he nearly died from the hands of his own son. He then said to the red figure in front of him,

"I'd never expect that you would come rescue me from my own son. The world sure is ironic…Kyubi."

Naruto stood up from the pond and gasped with his mother and Sarutobi as they saw a wolf sized form of the Kyubi no Yoko in front the now thankful Minato.

He was poised and ready to strike all that would attempt to hurt the man behind him. With his nine tails swaying, he then barked at Naruto.

**BAKA! What were you thinking! After all these years saying how the yondaime was a great shinobi and how you wanted to surpass him**** and make his dream come true, you thank him by attacking him?! He's your father gaki! Even I wouldn't do something so low and you would?! How dare you…you FILTHY BAG OF FLESH!**

His words though full of authority, did not cause Naruto's heart to yeild. Naruto retaliated to his question of wisdom with his own answer of folly.

"SHUT UP! He sealed You in me! Because of him, I lived every single day for the past twelve years of my life being beaten to an inch of my life, neglected, hated, constantly being assassinated, made fun of in general, the list goes on!"

**BAKA! I was the reason for your miserable life not him! By acting the way you do now makes you no different from the people who abused you gaki!**

"ShutupshutupshutupshutupshutupshutupSHUT UP!!!!"

The condensed feelings in the young blonde's heart could be felt by all in that room as he cried those words. It was a cry of sadness and despair. Sensing his son's deep pain, Minato then knelt in front of his son as he pleaded.

"Naruto, I can't understand what you feel from your past life."

"Of course you can't! You weren't there!"

The feral Naruto said as he spat those words with disgust.

"But from what I heard from Sarutobi, I can only say I'm sorry for everything that has happened to you. I did what I could because I loved the village and I loved you even more. It was painful for me as well to commit such a sacrifice even though I knew the consequences. I prepared myself for this day if ever it would happen."

"What?!"

Naruto muttered in confusion.

Before the former yondaime continued his apology, he then unsheathed his sword.

Everyone else tensed as they saw the readied blade. The blonde man then laid his sword on the ground in front of Naruto and bowed his head as he then made his final plea.

"Naruto…if it makes you happy…take my life as vengeance in exchange for the people who hated you and caused you much suffering…I will be the vessel that represents all those villagers and people who have hurt you in the past…"

A shocked Kushina was about to run to them but was held back by the hand of Sarutobi on her left shoulder.

"Let me go oji-san!"

Screamed the frightened mother. Sarutobi's grip however stood firm.

Sarutobi could only sigh as he looked at the two blondes while paying no attention to the worried Kushina's provocation as she struggled from his grasp.

Naruto had the sword readied to decapitate his father. Kyubi could only watch as son was about to slay father.

'_**Gaki, don't do this. Don't make the same mistake as that Uchiha did.'**_

The poised Kyubi thought as his fiery gaze fell upon his angry vessel.

Only silence could be heard in the background as the young blonde's grip on the gleaming blade tightened. It was a deafening silence until Naruto cried.

"KUSO!"

He cursed as he threw the sword into the ground. He then slumped by the wall crying his heart out with his father embracing him in his loving arms. The dying heart of the young blonde was now filled with the love and care of his family except for kyubbi as he slept by the dinner table in the middle of the room.

"It's ok son. Just let it all out."

Said the older blonde as he hugged him in his arms. Kushina soon followed as she broke from Sarutobi and hugged them both with tears in her eyes as she sobbed. Sarutobi on the other hand wiped the sweat and tears from his eyes as he sat beside the weeping family.

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By the time Naruto was fine enough to talk, they all then moved to the dinner table to eat. This of course surprised the young blonde as he had predetermined in his mind that people don't eat at all after they die. Then again, a lot of things had to be cleared up as he was in a strange new world.

His mother just chuckled at his innocent look towards the feast laid out for them. In fact, he gasped and dropped his jaw as he saw the monstrous appetite of his mother as she voraciously consumed the food in front of them. Sarutobi just sweatdropped as he spoke out loud.

"I still can't get used to her appetite. How your able to live with such a woman is beyond me."

"It takes patience and practice."

The blonde man said as he smiled and scratched his head before slurping up the last bit of ramen in his bowl. It was understandable now to the young blonde were he got his love for ramen and his voracious appetite as his mother burped at the last bowl before she lied down in an obvious 'I'm full' gesture. What surprised him with her action was that she didn't gain an inch in her belly.

Naruto sweatdropped as he thought,

_'where does it all go? Even I got no clue how that happens to me. Must run in the family'_

As they laughed at Kushina's burned out state, Naruto finally noticed that Kyubi was not sealed in him. And so he curiously asked the red maned fox.

"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be sealed in me?"

To the rest in that room, they too thought about it. It was a very good question. To the kyubi however, it was idiotic. The now annoyed fox bit his pride as he answered the boy's question.

**That was a good question for an imbicle. The reason I'm here is because I'm DEAD! Another reason was because of the Shiki Fujin that your father over there**** used. It bonded our spirits for life. In other words, though I hate to admit it, you're the master, and I'm the…loyal servant…**

The kyubi answered in disgust as he spat the last sentence. Naruto just sat there with his arms crossed and deep in thought. This made everyone else sweatdrop as their unison thought was, _'he can't be seriously trying to ponder that?'_.

After a full minute, an evil grin formed on the boy's face.

'_So now he gets it' _was the thought in everyone elses mind in that room. Naruto then looked at the kyubi and immediately commanded.

"Sit!"

After he said his command, a black seal that suddenly revealed itself on the kyubbi's neck began to glow yellow. Before they could be surprised at the sudden entrance of the seal, the kyubbi's body began to gain weight as if gravity was pulling him down. The fox's knees soon gave way as it stood prone on the floor.

An enraged and humiliated fox began to scream at the boy.

**KUSO!!! I'LL SEE YOU ROT IN HELL FOR THIS! DON'T YOU DA****RE TREAT ME, THE DEMON LORD KYUBI LIKE THIS YOU INSOLENT GAKI!!!!**

The young blonde just laughed as the kyubbi made his rants and several profanities at the boy while the rest just looked dumbfounded. They were having the time of their lives.

Reunited as a family and whole at last. Though they were only united in death, but their lives were now happier in its rebirth.

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Ok. Here is where I need suggestions on his training. And for those who are wondering if Hinata is in Soul Society, the answer is no. you'll find out why in the ff. chapters. Same goes for when in Bleach was Naruto.

Thank you for reading the latest chapter in Naruto: Death's Second Chance.


	6. Forged Resolve

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Ever since the attack of the Kyubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyubbi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyubbi Thinking'**_  


**Chapter 6**

_**Forged Resolve**_

As we look further…

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The large white coated room that stood before the two blonde's and the Kyubi accompanying them, still had its awe inspiring effects upon them as they sat with wide open eyes. For the red maned fox however, it was just like meeting Kami for judgment.

_Flashback_

_The fukutaicho of Minato had just entered the Third Division Headquarters. As he slid the door open, he then unemotionally gave his orders to the family by the small dining table._

_"I'm sorry to interrupt this joyous occasion, but the commander has requested you and your son's presence taicho."_

_Said the blond haired lieutenant as he entered the room of the Namikaze family where they, along with Sarutobi and kyubi were eating together._

_It was time to meet their inevitable fate. Naruto then stood up and politely said to the kneeling lieutenant._

_"Ok. We're going."_

_"Arigato. Excuse me."_

_The blonde leiutenant said as he respectfully bowed and walked away to his further duties._

_Both blonde's knew that it could mean a fate worse than death if the commander wished it when Kushina mentioned of him, during their conversations, banishing Minato to clean the entire Sereitei sewer system with a brush because he was late when he had called for him. The blond man had a pale expression as he remembered that day when he was soaked with all the toxic waste from who knows what for an entire month._

_Kyubi just laughed at the pathetic look the once mighty hokage gave at such memories._

_As the blonde father & son pair marched in the hallways towards the marble carved office of the commander, Naruto just stared in awe at the spectacles beyond him. He had never imagined seeing a place larger and more magnificent than Konoha. The afterworld was more than he could ever imagine as the foundations and most of the walls of every building were made of marble._

_When they finally arrived at the large room where the commander had been patiently waiting, the two blondes sat in the chair just opposite of the large wooden, paper filled desk expecting the worse just as kyubi arrived shortly to accompany them._

_End of Flashback_

Back in real time, the commander, from his paper stacked desk, inspected the two blondes and the animal that had sat beside the younger blond.

Naruto peered over as he saw the stacks of paper that piled up on the wooden desk in front of him. Nostalgia ran through his head as he thought,

_'Even in death there's a ton of paperwork. Now I understand what oji-san and baa-chan had to go through. Paperwork IS a fate worse than death.'_

They were stiffened in their seats not knowing what to expect. As the old warrior glanced, he noticed a faint sweat sliding from the teen's cheek down to his neck as it glimmered in the afternoon sun. The two blondes were the only ones that seemed intimidated by his presence and his harsh and serious face.

With his face now softening, the wise old commander, now finished with his inspection of the trio and spoke to them with a modulated, but weighted voice.

"Good! Your just in time. Had you come any sooner, I would be pained to send all of you involved in the incident to clean the sewers again."

The trio then swallowed hard knowing he wasn't going to give mercy to anyone no matter who it was.

The old warrior then inwardly smirked knowing that he has their full attention and continued to question them.

"So, I've heard that you, Naruto Uzumaki, is the son of my newly appointed third division captain and a good friend of the newly appointed fifth."

Naruto then nodded.

_'I guess there's nothing that escapes him'_

Thought the young blonde as he sighed in defeat.

Seeing the young blonde's curt reply, the commander then continued.

"And I can see that the red ball of fur over there is the stongest of all the bijū, the Kyubi no Yoko, who coincidentally was sealed inside you from the **Shiki Fujin**. Quite the story there."

Said the commander as he turned his gaze towards the fox during his last sentence.The fox then nodded and began to speak while his nine tails swayed in the wind.

**Do you always have to be so formal**** old friend? Anyway, since my vessel and I are already dead, I think it would be appropriate to send him to the academy. It's the only way he can live and find out more about Soul Society and the afterlife as he is already here in Sereitei. Who knows? He might make it to captain level.**

The two blondes were shocked by this startling revelation. Both then turned their heads towards the fox and screamed,

WHAT?! YOU KNOW EACH OTHER!

The two blondes jawdropped as saucers replaced their eyes while they stared at the Kyubi.

**Yes. Quite well actually. It was during a time when the spirit world was still**** closely in touch with the physical one. He was a young shinigami, while I was a young fox. We go way back than you can ever know. I can tell you more later on, but can we keep focused on the problem at hand?**

They were both at a loss for words. The commander then interupted their small talk to answer the kyubi's previous question.

"I see the logic in it. It would be beneficial for the boy and us if he would attend the academy. But he will not be treated special just because he is the son of one of our captains nor because he is your vessel. We need all the help we can get at this time and it would be greatly appreciated if he would keep his mouth shut concerning this matter. At least for now until he graduates."

The older blonde crossed his arms and nodded in reply while the younger one scratched his head in confusion. With a foxy grin in his face, he then replied to the old warrior.

"I've never been good at school work, so I might not do really well, but I will give it my all."

The aging commander then made a weak smile and said to them.

"I'm sure you would do well. I do expect you to do so since my newly appointed captains do favor you and we are in need of good help these days. Speaking of which, Minato, please guide the boy to the shinigami academy for his training."

"It would be my pleasure."

The older blonde replied as he bowed in acknowledgement. Naruto however, still looked puzzled as he muttered,

"Ano…"

The wise old commander then looked at the young blonde expecting his question.

"Ano, where am I to be exact?"

The wise old commander then began to explain the fascinating new world he was in.

"You're in Soul Society. Sereitei to be exact.. this is the world were the souls of the dead go after they have died. And Sereitei is the place in Soul Society where the shingamis reside to guide the souls here in the afterlife."

"Really? I've heard and read of stories of the afterlife and the Shinigami. You don't look like how the pictures illustrated you."

Said the puzzled blonde. The sotaicho just chuckled as he then explained to the boy of the afterlife.

"Ohhh, those pictures. The one you're talking about is the one illustrated concerning the **Shiki Fujin**. That was the eleventh division captain Zaraki Kenpachi in disguise. I never would have guessed that there would be a human who would be capable of even creating such a technique. Even worse, making a contract with Kenpachi."

"What?!"

Shouted the confused Naruto. Obviously the young blonde had much to learn concerning the shinigami world. Minato sensed this and carefully elaborated to his son.

"Son, I'm sure you already know what the **Shiki Fujin** does. It turns out that when you make the contract and summon a shinigami, you end up summoning one of the shinigami captains. It also turns out, that depending on the order of the handseals, you end up summoning a shinigami proportional to the handseals. In Sarutobi's case, he summoned the most ruthless shinigami known as Zaraki Kenpachi while I on the other hand, ended up summoning him and his cute little fukutaicho, Yachiru, who so happens to have written the seal on your stomach."

Naruto swallowed hard before a vein throbbed on his head as he then said,

"So technically you didn't have to die if the shinigami you summoned didn't feel like it…"

Everyone nodded. Naruto just sighed as he sweatdropped and face faulted to the floor.

_'Kuso, one of these days I'll find those two and beat the shit out of them.'_

The angry Naruto began to rant that thought over and over again in his head until the sound of the sotaicho's cane tap the floor. When the wise old commander snatched their attention, he then cleared his throat as he said,

"Now that everything is settled, I have some paperwork I'd like to finish."

The sotaicho made his point clear as he started signing the stacks of paper that piled up on his desk.

As the two blonde's turned away, Naruto noticed that his constant companion was not walking with them. He then turned his head around and spotted the fox still sitting there. So he then asked of the kyubi.

"Kyubi, are you going with us or are you going to reminisce here?"

**I think I'll reminisce here. Just call me when you need me gaki.**

"Fine, suit yourself. Ja ne."

With a wave of goodbye, the two blondes then dissapeared from sight as they walked towards the direction of the shinigami academy. When the two were out of sight, the two old companions still within the office then made a sigh of relief. The old warrior began to lightly grasp his beard as he then asked of his old friend.

"Now that they're gone, can you explain to me the situation? I know very well that there is more than meets the eye here. Especially since the **Shiki Fujin** has been used three times within the past years. And how did you get here in the first place? Normally you should have gone to hell or the judgement seat in Kami's world. Yet here you are. I think its going to be quite an interesting story."

**It sure is.**

The fox replied while he went closer to the desk of his old friend to continue his story.

**It happened when my vessel and his newly found mate fell into the Pheonix seal. As you know, the Cinder Pheonix chooses only the purest of hearts with the strongest love for a person as his sacrificial summon.**

The fox then paused to catch his breath. It was fortunate for him that his friend understood quickly because of their long friendship together. The old warrior now was able to put two and two together as he continued the fox's story.

"And his sacrifice happens to be the young woman who loved your vessel very deeply. This is one tragic story, especially since Suzaku assimilated her soul for him to be reborn in our timeframe. And if I'm correct, your vessel…"

And just like clockwork, the Kyubi continued his sentence for him.

**Killed himself in**** regret. Unfortunately, he did so with the soul disrupting weapon of one of the fallen soldiers of the Cinder Pheonix. Naturally, we instantly died because of the property of the weapon. His blood overflowed the sealing chamber and activated the failsafe mechanism which sent us in this world, though we are still bonded by the Shiki Fujin. How we are still bound despite the weapon's reiatsu disrupting abilities, I don't know. But I do have a hunch Kami's intervention is involved.**

The sun no longer shone on the bald commander's cross scarred head as he rested his chin on his left fist. This revelation now cleared the previous questions but at the same time opened up more. Only Kami knows the adventure laid out for the young blonde.

----------o)0(o----------

Meanwhile, the two blondes managed to reach the shinigami academy. It was like an old japanese castle except for the stone pillars that held several of the corners of the buildings in place. Naruto just swallowed hard as he began to march alongside his father as they received strange looks at them and noticed several of the young girls whispering in each other's ears, albeit about them, with blushes on their faces.

The students that the young blonde saw were nothing like that of Konoha as most of which were in the start of their adolescent years. They also wore uniforms. The young men wore blue and white hakamas while the young women wore a red and white one. Both genders however shared the white tabi and either zoras or getas as footwear.

Understanding his son's still culture shocked state, Minato then spoke to him as they walked towards the principal's office for enrollment.

"Don't worry to much. You'll get used to it in time. Just give your best. Don't hesitate to ask me any questions if you need help. To be honest you're actually lucky to go to the academy. Since me and Sarutobi were beyond the age limit, we had to be drafted based on our skills in a three week time period."

The only thing that ran through the troubled young blonde's mind was 'how on earth did they pass?' as they finally reached the office and entered to be interviewed. Suprisingly, all went well since he was the son of the recent third division captain. He was quickly enrolled in his first year in the academy.

With the interview done, and Naruto managed to pick up his uniform for his first day of class the following day.

They walked all the way outside towards the residential district of Sereitei as Minato explained what he could about Soul Society. Naruto listened intently of his father's explanation and learned of the social castes and system of government as well as life in Soul Society.

Though he listened well, somehow this bright new world wasn't so bright to the young blonde's heart as he remembered how he got here and showed a downcast look as his cerulean eyes became a deep void instead of an azure plain.

When they finally reached their residence, Naruto just smiled at the beautiful house that stood before him. It was like a small traditional japanese mansion. Complete with a dojo, hot spring, and several rooms along with a clean kitchen and a huge library as well as a storage room where several weapons were kept.

They were promptly greeted by Kushina as she glomped all over her now blushing husband.

"Hey there boys! How did everything go?"

Said the feisty red head as she threw herself all over Minato and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Everything went fine. We got him enrolled and the sotaicho has approved of it."

The older blonde said as he hugged his wife and kissed her on the lips in return. Naruto just stood there beside them beet red, as he witnessed the two cuddling like a young couple.

Her cuddling of her husband however, ended when a grumble erupted from their stomachs. Though embarassed by the sudden outburst. They just laughed and sat at the dinner table in the next room where another feast was prepared. Somehow Naruto would take a long time to get used to seeing this.

As they sat at the table they noticed Sarutobi was already there pulling on a piece of chicken with the kyubi fighting for it on the other end. It was very childish, but it was something that lightened up their hearts.

"Oi it's time to eat! Not the time to play tug-of-war. Itadakimasu!"

After her rant, she began to devour the food like there was no tomorrow. Naruto sweatdropped at the sight of his disfunctional family. Even his thoughts could clearly tell his emotions.

_'otou-san loves eating ramen, okaa-san just loves to eat, and oji-san and kyubi love to eat the same food. No wonder they died early. Note to self: never eat out with all of them together.'_

After some time of vanquishing the foe that was the feast, Minato was still bugged by the depressed look that his son had for some time now. He then curiously asked him.

"What's wrong son? You didn't seem very well a while ago. What's been bothering you?"

Naruto finally snapped up in attention to that question as he said,

"I'm fine otou-san. It's nothing really."

He said as he finished his bowl of ramen and started to drink the soup left. While he drank the soup, kyubi could not resist being silent any more and said.

**Gaki, don't worry about that one. There are more out there that can be your mate.**

Naruto comically spewed the soup he was drinking when he heard that statement as a thin coat of pink emerged from his face.

Minato just gazed in shock. Sarutobi accidentally choked on his sushi while Kushina 'miraculously' regained consciousness from her burned out state as she sat back up and started shouting.

"WHAT?! NARUTO HAD A GIRLFRIEND!!! WHO IS THIS GIRL? DO WE KNOW HER? IS SHE HERE IN SOUL SOCIETY?!"

Naruto panicked and began to plea out loud.

Naruto: NO IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! WE'RE JUST GOOD FRIENDS!

Ignoring the now panicked young blonde, Sarutobi, who managed to swallow the sushi, asked the kyubi.

"Which one was it? The Haruno or the Hyuga?"

The sly fox then answered him.

**It was the Hyuga girl. Quite a foxy l****ittle one that one. Shy on the outisde, yet fiery inside. In fact, I confirmed it even more when she started seducing him and confessed to him her feelings for him. I'm proud to say you are my vessel. You've got excellent taste gaki.**

Minato and Kushina rejoiced as they found out the good news while Sarutobi just cried in joy for the boy. Minato then ran over to his son as he got him in a headlock and said,

"I'm proud of you son! You got a girlfriend despite everything!!!"

Naruto was the only one who didn't feel elated or resisted his father's grip as he remembered what happened. Instead of showing any emotion at all, he just stood up and went to sleep in his new room overlooking the horizon.

The rest except for kyubi just stood confused at why he just suddenly left with an aura of sadness. Understanding the dead feelings still emanating in that dining room, kyubi then explained to them what had happened between Naruto and his eternally lost lover and the reason behind their dire situation during their last moments on earth.

The dining room died as a huge weight of sadness poured over their hearts. Kushina began to shed tears as she fully understood how miserable his life was from beginning to end. Not only did he live a horrible life from an incident that he never did, but his efforts were all in vain because love never at any point in his life lived long enough to save his dying soul. Karma's irony was no longer anything funny at this point.

"How could this have happened? Why did he have to go through such pain by himself? WHY?"

The sobbing mother said. It was a painful time for her because of the deep anguish that her son went through.

Minato began to curse himself because of his son's suffering. Naruto didn't have a life at all because of a crime he never commited.

"This was all my fault. If I hadn't, but there wasn't any other way! At the very least I had hoped he had found love. He received the love from Sarutobi and from what I heard, some of his close friends too. But overall, he never experienced true love and the romantic form of it because no one was truly there for him to love him and take good care for him all because of hatred towards the kyubi. All because of misunderstanding, all because of me, my only son died and never resurrected again."

"But that's not the sad part Minato."

Proclaimed the sandaime. His words got both of their attention. When they both looked at him still with watery eyes, he then explained his tragic point.

"What's really sad was the fact that he killed her with his own hands. All that guilt and regret are flowing through his mind and heart right now."

The wise old warrior said with a saddend tone.

"But it was an accident! He didn't kill her on purpose!"

The weeping mother retaliated.

Sarutobi, who was saddened by these turn of events, then spoke words that gripped the weeping two's hearts.

"No he did not. But he feels that he did."

His statements froze the weeping parents into wide-eyed shock. As both were stunned by this statement, the wise old warrior then continued.

"Think about it. He lived all his life blamed for something he never did. Because of that, he had deep sadness and hatred for a reason unkown to him until he found out the truth. But even when he knew they were wrong, no one was there to comfort him through all those hard times. Sadly, I wasn't able to truly be there for him and give him the love and appreciation he needed. That's why he worked hard to earn the people's respect and love because of his pure heart and he understood that…'in order to gain respect and be treated with it, he needed to earn it'. He was a strong boy and still is. But without love, he lived with a broken heart and a dead soul. He never felt love all his life, but he always gave it even if he himself dosen't understand. Plus, the seal on the kyubi was weakening so he slowly lost control."

"I see where this is going…he felt that he was slowly becoming a monster and always felt that a monster like him could never find love or be loved. He tried hard to reject that idea but all these emotions came crashing down on him when 'that' happened. KUSO! I HATE THIS!"

Minato said and smashed his head on the table as he shouted the last part.

'Such a tragic life' was what could be spelled out in the mind and heart of the wise old Sarutobi as he began to light his pipe until he lost the urge to smoke and quit permanently from all the sadness.

That room wasn't the only place that loomed of sadness. While the rest mourned for the young blonde downstairs, Naruto himself in his bed, shedded buckets of tears while grasping tightly on the pillow and lied down in the fetal position as he remembered the painful memories of her death replay in his head and his thoughts became darker than the sky.

_'She loved me and I killed her…it was an accident…no, it was my fault! She was the only person who loved me for me…but it could never happen! …at least that's what I thought…maybe I wasn't meant to love…maybe I'm just like what they say I am…a demon…all those times she was there with me…all those times she comforted me when I needed comfort…all those times she fainted…those times she stuttered…and that time she confessed to me…I really do love her! …but I guess love never came…I was just too dense…but then again I never deserved it…I really am Konoha's number one knucklehead ninja…'_

His heart was gripped in a batlle of sadness, anger and love as he remembered all those times with her and every moment of that fateful day when she died. It was just like the way Sasuke fell to the powerful illusion of the **Mangekyo Sharingan** as the sorrow kept tormenting him for hours until he finally cried himself to sleep.

----------o)0(o----------

His tears ended only when dawn woke him. Realizing how early he had woken up, he took a quick bath and quickly changed into his school uniform and took a good look in the mirror before setting off. His gaze no longer showed the damp sight it once had last night as a piercing gaze replaced it with his cerulean eyes now becoming a bright azure flame as he dashed outside towards the highest peak in Sereitei, the execution chamber. When he finally stood there in that barren cliff overlooking Soul Society, a shadowy figure crept up behind him and began to speak.

**You know gaki, you weren't the only one saddened by what happened. When I told them what really happened, they cried and cursed themselves for the tragedy of a life you had.**

The deep voice said as the figure's nine tails swayed in the wind. He then stood beside Naruto and continued to speak seeing that the young blonde still listened.

**It reminds of the time when I attacked Konoha. Madara Uchiha made a blood sacrifice summoning by using my mate and kits as the blood penalty. How he got a hold of them is beyond me. But when I found out, I let my rage take over and was blinded as I attacked whatever was in my way. I thank your father for what he did though I still hated being caged. ****I can relate to what your feeling at this moment. The feeling of helplessness, rage and regret as you let that image run through your mind. It hurts dosen't it?**

Said the kyubi as he looked over the horizon. Naruto then closed his eyes as he began to reply to the kyubbi beside him.

"It does and there is nothing I can do about it. What's done is done. The past can't be reversed. But that doesn't mean our future can't. I know that no matter whose fault it was, either way she's gone and I have to accept it and move on so her memory dosen't go in vain."

His voice gained a serious tone as he opened his flaming azure eyes just in time to see the sunrise.

Both looked onward with sharpened gazes as they felt the other's feelings.

**Gaki, you were crying yourself to sleep last night. What made you change like this?**

The now solemn Kyubi asked. Naruto, with his heart ablazed, replied with determination spewing from his mouth.

"I never changed. That was until I remembered what she said to me before she died."

_Flashback_

_"This is the reason you didn't want to share your secrets to me. I understand now. All those times you were hated, scorned, beaten and tortured and only you know what else happened. It all makes sense now. But, I really care about you Naruto. It doesn't matter to me if you were the kyubi or not. You are you. And I care about you that I would gladly die for you like this. Please don't regret anything anymore. Don't wallow in sadness. It's not like you to always be this sad. Go with Sakura-san. She can love you for you now. I'm just happy that I can see the real you. Because…"_

_She said to him as she brought his face closer to hers. Softly and lovingly, she then whispered to his lips, once more, the greatest words that would impact Naruto's life._

_"Aishiteru… Naruto-kun"_

_With that said, she sealed it with a deep kiss. It was a fragile yet wonderful moment. Her tongue attempted to gain entry which he permitted and made the same move as well. Both were battling for dominance and massaging the tongue of the other for a whole minute as their lips locked._

_Their hearts beat as one as their feelings reached each other for the first…and last time at that moment. _

_Her hands then dropped to the blood filled floor now lifeless. _

_She had finally passed on in peace signified by the smile on her face._

_End of Flashback_

An aura of silent determination ignited from both the master and the tenant. The young blonde then continued his speech.

"Her love was what saved me. I was already dead inside. Yet she recklessly loved a person like me. I realized that I loved her too and would gladly die for her just as she did when she rescued me from myself and gladly died for me. I loved her…because she loved me first."

Naruto closed his eyes once more. As he stood deep in thought, while replaying the events in his mind once more. The kyubi, being soul bound to Naruto, could feel what he felt as he replayed those images. While feeling Naruto's slowly reborn vigor he then asked him.

**Gaki, you lost everything. Your entire life was a loss. Tell me, was a lifetime of loss worth it here?**

The young blonde opened his eyes once more to reveal his flaming azure eyes that glowed even brighter than before. He was truly reborn in spirit from his baptism in blood and tears as his old life was melting away and he was maturing even more as a bright flame burned inside his heart.

With a fierce, but silent determination, he then boldy spoke,

"Yes, It was. I may have lost everything the moment she and we died, but last night, it was clear to me that what I lost there, is nothing compared to what I gained here---a new life that I have the power to change. My destiny is now my own, and I refuse to rot in sadness anymore. Her love freed me from that grave. All my life I have lived in sorrow, but now I will change that and NOTHING WILL STOP ME!!!!"

The blonde jinchuriki screamed as the sun flowed over his whisker marked face and flaming azure eyes. His new life now begun as the as the sun forged his heart and mind and they in return forged his resolve.

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I had a hard time doing this chapter. It was difficult for me to string this together because I needed to portray confusion yet resolve mixed with regret. I need suggestions on how to improve this chapter.

The next chapters will be his training. I'm not pairing Naruto with any Bleach cast. It is still strictly NaruHina. How it will be that way is my secret. I don't wan't to rush things so that I can build Naruto as a character and give an angle on his life in Sereitei. That way, things get clearer later on and less hassle when it comes to the…I won't say anymore. Just await the next chapters for it.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did crafting it!(seriously, this was my favorite chapter.)


	7. Tables have Turned

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Ever since the attack of the Kyubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyubi Thinking'**_  


**Chapter 7**

_**Tables have Turned**_

Onward in our journey…

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The ball of fire that stood in the deep skyline of Soul Society began to radiate brightly indicating the end of dawn and beginning of morning.

During this time of day, many young adolescents paced towards the marble floored building known as the Shinigami Academy. As several would be shinigamis strolled by, a young blonde could be seen sprinting in the distance behind them.

_Flashback_

_As the young blonde and his nine-tailed companion entered the small Japanese mansion with the name of 'Namikaze' entitled above the large wooden gate, they were promptly greeted by a red haired woman who then ushered them towards the dining room to which they sat down to the feast laid before them._

_A sweatdrop formed on the young blonde's face as he gazed upon the sheer size of the servings on that table. In annoyance, with a vein throbbing on his forehead, he then spoke._

_"OKAA-SAN! Don't you ever eat like a human being?!"_

_The indulging red head gobbled down her current bowl before answering her son's annoyed question._

_"Well someone's in a good mood. Speaking of moods, you'll be in another bad one if you don't eat your breakfast and get to school on time for your first day!"_

_Her happy-go-lucky smile and message opened his now beaming heart. The young blonde then realized that he was no longer sad. _

_'She's right though, I don't feel sad at all. Its like I've been training with Lee's weights all over my body and I just released them when I cried myself to sleep that night.'_

_His feelings of sadness HAD melted that night he cried himself to sleep. With that thought in mind, he began to eat happily until his father came in to join them._

_"Naruto, though you are enrolled in the shinigami academy, I want you to continue your shinobi training. We'll discuss your training later when you get home from school."_

_Said the older blonde as he ate a quick meal and gave a good-bye kiss to his burned out wife. The younger blonde then quickly nodded and continued to eat until his nine-tailed companion reminded him that he was late._

_End of Flashback_

Back in real time, the young blonde dashed as fast as he could towards the shutting wooden gate and was barely caught by its clutches as he managed leap past the gates just in time.

He panted and made a sigh of relief while he said to himself.

"Kuso! Next time I'll roast that baka for not reminding me earlier. That's it! I'll put sleeping pills in his next meal so that I can—"

Before he could continue his ranting, a soft, warm hand had grabbed from behind his right shoulder, effectively cutting his next sentence while a voice spoke to him from behind.

"I think it would be best for you to save your ranting later and get to class wouldn't you think?"

Naruto then turned around to meet the soft spoken voice that brought him back to reality.

The figure was a black haired woman with brown eyes and her long locks of hair were braided together in the front that sank until her chest area. She wore the same shihakushō as any other shinigami except that her haori had the black lined rhombus with the kanji for four at its back and her robes were tied with an obi sash.

The young blonde then blushed at the woman's calm beauty. In a way, she reminded him of his dead lover Hinata. he then scratched his head and politely asked her,

"Ano…are you a teacher here in the academy? I'm new so I don't really know where to go around here."

The calm beauty chuckled at the polite remarks of the young blonde. She then gave a gentle smile as she answered his question.

"Yes I am. Though only part time since I do run the fourth division of the Gotei thirteen. My name is Retsu Unohana by the way. You must be the third's son. You're the spitting image of your father you know Naruto?"

The young blonde just smiled and blushed as he nodded.

The woman then smiled back and took him to his classroom where he will begin his six-year training as a shinigami. As they were about to enter the classroom for the freshmen class, Naruto began to show nervousness as a slight sweat dropped from his brow. The kind Retsu noticed this and chuckled as she said,

"It's going to be fine. I think you'll fit perfectly here."

The blonde then took a deep breath, and entered the classroom. To his surprise, the seating arrangement was just when he took chunin exams albeit much larger. The students just stared in curiosity at the blonde haired teen with whisker marks on his face and flaming azure eyes.

Retsu then stepped in and introduced the young blonde to the students.

"Class, this here is Naruto Namikaze, son of our newly appointed third division captain, Minato Namikaze. I hope you treat him well since he's just new here."

The entire class then began to talk among themselves in shock at the realization of the identity of this blonde haired teen. Aside from the academy hakama that he wore, he also wore a black headband with an engraved symbol of a spiral that shapes into a leaf on a metal plate and several pouches strapped to both of his legs.

Naruto was very embarrased at this point. But he regained his composure and began to introduce himself.

"Hi! I am Naruto Namikaze! I like ramen, training, and my family! My dislikes are traitors, death of love ones, the Akatsuki and snakes. My hobbies are learning about new things and training. My ambition is to become a better shinigami than my father!"

The class instructor and Retsu were amused by his little speech. As Unohana left to attend her other duties, Naruto then found his seat to begin his day.

The young blonde was quite interested at the several things that were discussed during his first day. He learned about how Soul Society operates in congruence with the world. He learned about the hollows, shinigamis, and souls. He learned about the several classes in Soul Society and Sereitei as well as its government, politics, and economic system. There were a lot of things that needed to be covered. Fortunately, they have six years to do so.

As the day went on, many of the students became bored as the number of topics dragged throughout the day. But our young blonde hero's flaming azure eyes didn't flicker away as he absorbed everything like a sponge. Especially when it came down to the topics of the shingami ways of combat such as Kido, Hakuda, Hoho and Zanjutsu. But those were not to be discussed further within the day as it finally ended and they were allowed to leave for home.

While most of the students went off to head home after a long day of studying, the young blonde instead went towards the library of the academy.

It was nothing like the ones back in Konoha as it stood having three floors, twenty-four feet high and one hundred square meters per floor and the same signature marble flooring, walls and even stairs that spiralled towards each floor.

He gazed at the numerous shelves of knowledge in the entire library. Anyone would get lost in such enormity. Luckily for him, he knew what he was searching for and went over to the recepionist to ask for the location of the information that he hungered to find.

As he approached the sitting woman, he noticed that something was amiss with the little lady. She had short brown hair and definite eyebags that lined her pale skin. Though she wore the same clothing as the rest of the shinigamis, she seemed ordinary at best.

The young blonde couldn't help but notice her sleeping form at the desk as a thought of pity entered his mind.

_'Poor thing. Some people here don't get enough sleep. Then again, sleeping seems to be a rare thing here. Better do this quickly so she can rest more.'_

The young blonde then awakened the sleeping girl with a request for the information he needed.

"Excuse me…"

"HAIT! I'LL BE RIGHT THERE SOTAI…who are you?"

The now awakened maiden asked in a mixture of reflexive action and subtle realization. Naruto sweatdropped at the antics of the lady before him. Not wasting anymore time before the girl could fall asleep once more, he drove straight to the point.

"I need information on the history of the elemental gods, the relationship between the living and the dead, info on Kido, Hoho, Hakuda, Zanjutsu, info on reiatsu, and info on Hollows and the three planes of reality."

The disturbed girl then quickly searched the files in her desk drawer and gave him the necessary location as she fell back in slumber.

The blonde just nodded and quickly went to his task. The books he had come upon were more than he could expect. The sheer weight alone of every book became a burden to his arms as he carried them into a secluded area in the library. He then ranted to himself in regret of his actions.

"Kuso, I knew I'd be carrying a lot, but not this much! Note to self: bring some scrolls whenever visiting the library."

Each book that he brought with him contained general to specific knowledge of the four combat arts of shinigamis, the function of shinigamis in the world, the difference between a soul and a body, the energy of the body and soul, as well as advanced information concerning the zanpaktou and the other realms not to mention, the origins of Suzaku and anything related to him.

For hours he sat there and absorbed information and wrote on a small black notebook similar in size to the BINGO book of the shinobi's, those things he couldn't readily absorb. Those he could absorb were the basics and intermediate subjects of the academy, while the advanced and deeper understanding of those topics as well as other information from the living world were written in his black book and encrypted into a seal in the form of an archaic language that Jiraya taught him so that only he or those who understand the language it was written in can decipher what was sealed in the book.

_Flashback_

_Naruto was practicing in a nearby lake his chakra control as he stood on water. Jiraya on the other hand was busy writing in his little notebook while gigling pervertedly every so often._

_'Stupid ero-sennin writing for his perverted books. What is it that he keeps writing that he needs to leave me to train by myself? I have to find out!'_

_Thought the young blonde with his curiosity fueling his determination. As night finally fell, Jiraya fell asleep by the campfire._

_'Hehe. That packet of powdered sleeping mushroom that I borrowed from baa-chan really did knock him out like a light! Now's my chance!'_

_Thought the young blonde as grinned from ear to ear. As he slinked his hand into the pocket of the sleeping toad sage, he nimbly took the little book and withered back into his tent._

_The deviant blonde began to joyfully speak in success for retrieving the hated notebook._

_"Yosha! Now I can find out what takes up his time!"_

_As the young blonde looked through the notebook, his eyes could not believe what he was seeing. Instead of lines of perverted writing or pornographic diagrams, it was line per line of archaic writing that filled the pages of this small notebook._

_"I think I got the wrong book. He must have switched it before he ate the corn stew."_

_The young blonde said to himself as he scratched his head in confusion. However he didn't notice the shadow that loomed over him until it spoke._

_"Nope, you got the right book."_

_Naruto turned his head around to see Jiraya unaffected by his little prank._

_"I knew about the sleeping powder that you stole from Tsunade's desk when we visited the hospital. I used to do that too when we were younger and set up several traps during the chuunin exams when we used it."_

_Jiraya lived up to his name as a Legendary Saninn alright. Such simple ploys couldn't work on him when he himself had done the same techinques during his time. Seeing that he had nowhere to slide from, Naruto just asked out straight his question._

_"Ero-sennin! What's up with your caligraphy? I've never seen writing like this before. I never knew you know other languages let alone how to write them."_

_Jiraya sat beside the blonde as he explained what those writings were._

_"That's because they are seals and not necessarily writings."_

_This stunned the young blonde as he looked at the several pages of the writings that were listed down on the notebook._

_Seeing the blonde's dumbfounded state, he then continued his explanation._

_"Those are forbidden sealing techniques that onl__y a selected few shinobi know of. According to ancient legends, it was the sealing technique of the gods. Anything from information to items can be stored using that sealing technique and there are no limits to how many objects you can seal. What's even cooler about it is that only the user has the power to release the seal let alone read it unless there is another user of the sealing technique. But even then it would be hard to unseal it because of the specific energy signature needed to break the seal."_

_End of Flashback _

The young blonde began to put up his foxy smile when he remembered the day he learned about the forbidden sealing technique passed down to him by his former master during his lifetime on earth.

"Thank's for teaching me this ero-sennin. It's pretty handy."

He continued his toiling research until dusk settled in. Feeling the fatigue weigh him down, he then left the library and strolled on home in the dimming alleyway of Sereitei.

He was tired, but content with his first day as he happily sat down at the dinner table and ate his fill. The family including the kyubi began to ask about his day. For the most part, they were shocked at the sheer amount of knowledge he relayed to them after his first day in the academy. Even the yondaime couldn't do that in such a short period of time when he did a crash course of becoming a shinigami.

His father was impressed and now realized that his son would soon surpass him. With this in mind, the older blonde, now brimming with confidence, told his son.

"Naruto, I want you to train with me starting tommorrow so that we can improve your shinobi skills and so that kyubi can explain to you the situation."

The young blonde thought for a minute and then nodded as he finished his fill and went immediately to sleep in his room. He couldn't wait to learn from his father. But what pondered his mind was what he meant by 'kyubi explaining the situation'. He could only find out the next day.

----------o)0(o----------

It wasn't long before dawn came again to wake the sleeping blonde. But this time he was greeted by an all too familiar pur as he could see nine red tails swaying in his face.

**Gaki, time to start your training. I'll see you in the training yard.**

The ever impatient kyubbi growled as he **shunsined** in a burst of flames.

Naruto then quickly put on his uniform and went to the training yard in the back of his house. It was a huge field of grass that stretched for several miles. As Naruto stood there in the ocean of grass, he could spot his father, Sarutobi and kyubbi in the center.

He then approached them and sat down to where they sat as they discussed to Naruto what was going on.

**Gaki, as you know, we were sent here because of the little stunt you pulled there in the seal of the pheonix.**

The young blonde sighed as remembered, but then nodded and he continued the kyubi's sentence.

"I understand. It was the first thing that I looked through in the library here. Suzaku was one of the five elemental gods that fought in the Battle of the Elements. Each one of those gods who represented a certain element fought in a battle royal for ultimate supremacy until Kami personally stopped their reckless destruction and sealed them in several locations across the continent where they are chained by their own inner darkness and can only be released by a sacrifice that fits their internal need."

The rest of the group looked at each other. Since he's been doing his research, it makes it easier for them to explain to him the finer details. Kyubi then spoke to him again as they faced him in attention.

**You've done your homework. The sacrifice itself i****s irreversible once done so there's no hope of saving her. **

The kyubi said as he jumped towards the awaited conclusion.

The young blonde sighed again as he remembered reading that as well in the book where he found the information on Suzaku. Still brimming with determination, he then humbly said,

"It's alright. I read that as well so I know it can't be done. But why didn't Kami destroy them instead?"

The fiery kitsune then explained further to Naruto what has been pondering on his mind.

**The five elemental gods were not destroyed because it would wreck the very balance in the nature of your world. But that dosen't mean it is very balanced. The shinigamis didn't bother to look into it because it was a situation beyond their jurisdiction and posed no threat to**** either worlds since the seal was very strong. I already asked permission to keep the spot for ninth division captain open for you so that you can personally fix the situation in your world. Ever since that incident happened, the overall seal weakened to a point where we need to act fast and stop the reawakening of the other four gods.**

Naruto understood from his companion's words that he still had a purpose back in his world. Though, not in the way he imagined. Irony in the very sense was his situation.

Sarutobi then asked of the kyubi.

"We're training him for this reason? But I heard it was the 'Battle of the Four Gaurdians of the Continent'. How come you said it was five?"

The Kyubi then answered his question as he closed his eyes in deep thought of the situation.

**It was five because the god of lightning initiated the first strike. He prided himself more than anything. ****This angered Genbu of earth. Which in turn caused Seiryu of water, Suzaku of fire and Byakko of air to join in as well. From the human's point of view, only four were seen battling because the god of lightning was busy trying to get into Kami's realm while the other elements fought in despair against each other until the god of lightning failed and fell right in the middle of the fray just before Kami stepped in. from the shinigami's point of view, only one was the ringleader while the rest were pawns. Which brings me to my next explaination. While Suzaku was released, he did not attempt to escape his prison. I know this because he hasn't destroyed anything in your world at the moment or come into this realm. This means that he learned his lesson in love. But his release means the god of lightning's seal is now weaker and will continue to weaken regardless. So we need the help of the other four gods to defeat the god of lightning.**

Naruto and Sarutobi looked deep in thought. It was a heavy burden that one man cannot carry alone. Minato took this opportunity to speak to them.

"There are many things to ponder right now, but what's important is if you are willing to take this burden. No one else can handle this pressure. Not even the commander. You alone have the power to stop this. The seal by magical standards has it's own timeframe separate from ours and is beyond our capabilities alone. Are you willing to go through with this Naruto?"

Naruto then shone his flaming azure eyes towards the cerulean eyes of his father and said,

"I'll do it."

With his agreement, the task was set in place.

Feeling the determination of his vessel, the firey kitsune then ended the discussion with his final statements.

**It's settled then. Gaki, ****your father and I will train you in taijutsu and ninjutsu before you head out to class. And after class you will train with your mother in chakra control and genjutsu. By the time the day ends, you would have only four hours to yourself. Eventually we would train you in the finer arts of being a shinigami once you need to train.**

"But what about oji-san?"

Asked the blonde as he looked at the former sandaime with a puzzled glare. The wise old warrior then spoke to the concerned blonde the reason why as he bowed his head in defeat.

"Unfortunately, I have a lot of paperwork to accomplish. Plus, my duties as a shinigami captain come first. As much as I'd like to help, the last captain in my division left three months worth of unfinished business when he defected."

Since Naruto was still unaware of the current affairs of Soul Society, he then asked what any puzzled man would ask in his position.

"Defected? There was a defection?"

The older blonde saw the confusion in his son's face and began to explain the current situation.

"There was a defection just two months ago before you arrived. Three shinigami captains established an elaborate coup' de etat to obtain the Hōgyoku and joined the hollow side in order to obtain more power and rule Kami's realm. I and Sarutobi were promoted to those ranks after the defection. I took the third while Sarutobi took the fifth. That leaves you with the ninth division if you make it in time."

The young blonde just nodded as he got every explaination down about his training and life long mission.

From early morning before the start of school, he would train with his father and kyubbi in taijutsu and ninjutsu, and after class, he would train in chakra control and genjutsu with his mother. This left him just four hours of extra time to himself which he would use to research and study before dinner time and sleep. That was the schedule given to him.

Just as they were to start the young blonde's training, a young woman with brown hair in a bun and the sash with the kanji for five strapped on her left arm over her shihakushō came running in. she panted just before regaining composure and spoke towards Sarutobi.

"Taicho! Where were you? I've been looking all over until Toushiro taicho said he saw you go to the Namikaze house. You have a lot of paperworks to sign!"

This brought anime tears to the former sandiame's eyes. While the other three just sweatdropped.

_'Yup, I was right. Paperwork is a fate worse than death.'_

The young blonde thought up as he confirmed his past thoughts concerning the dreaded paperwork.

Just before the old sage was about to leave, he then introduced his lieutenant to Naruto and his father.

"Naruto, this is Hinamori Momo. She is my lieutenant and vice-captain. Hinamori, this is my good friend Minato and his son Naruto. And the nine-tailed friend over there is the Kyubi no Yoko."

The worried young lady then blushed as she spotted the handsome young blonde and promptly bowed as she greeted them good morning before her and Sarutobi went off towards his dreaded duty that he could never escape even in death…paperwork.

With his bid of goodbye, Naruto spent the rest of his early morning training with his father and kyubbi.

"So, what do I train in first otou-san?"

Said the excited young blonde.

"First of all we need to make you the fastest shinigami around. Take off your clothes so I can put gravity seals on you."

Naruto then complied. It wasn't the first time that he had a gravity seal placed on him ever since his two and a half year training with Jiraya.

When the boy finally undressed until his boxers were left, Minato began to write the seal all over his body.

The tatooed seals formed several rings around the young blonde's body from head to toe.

When he finished writing the seal, he then wrote a secondary one just above the gravity seals. Curious about the secondary seal, the young blonde then asked.

"What are the second ones?"

"These are restoration seals. Your body will get stronger because of the gravity seals, but the sheer stress of it would cut down the gain from the training to about eighty percent. This seal will restore your stamina faster and slow down the aging process alowing your body to receive the full benefit of your gravity seal training and allowing your mind to think and learn much faster."

The blonde nodded in acknowledgement as his father finished the seals. The older blonde then flashed his hands through several handsigns. Fast enough for him to complete in time, but slow enough for Naruto to remember. As the older blonde finished the last seal, the watchful kyubbi then smirked as he saw the young blonde form a crater in his shape from the sheer weight of the seal that totaled three tons which engulfed his body.

The young blonde began to cry anime tears from their sheer weight but had enough endurance to curse in several profanities to his chuckling father.

"Sorry for the excess weight. I'll cut it down to one ton so you can at least move."

"You better! Kuso! How do you expect me to train if can't move dumbass!"

The annoyed and angry blonde shouted as he attempted to raise the finger at them only to have it fall down on the newly upturned dirt once more.

The older blonde and kyubi rolled on the floor in laughter as Naruto struggled to get up and release his frustration on his two mentors. It would be a long and grueling training for the next six years of his life.

----------o)0(o----------

Two years have passed as our young blonde began to get acustomed to life in Soul Society. And it so happened that our flaming azure eyed hero at this time was leaning against the wall in boredom while his classmates practiced their kido on a stuffed human sized target several meters away.

Naruto had become an adept prodigy beyond his years all thanks to his family's training and his determined will.

He had fully mastered every lesson that he learned during these past two years. He was like a sponge. He absorbed every lesson that was thrown at him that it began to annoy some of his teachers and gain him a popularity among his peers.

Though it did not affect him in any way, he was surprised at how much of a reversal his life had become in this world. Back in Konoha, he was the dobe of his batch who was scorned and hated, yet the reverse has become true here in death as a shinigami.

While the rest of his peers were giving their best to do the instructed bakudo, namely bakudo number four, he just leaned at the side because he had already mastered that move ages ago.

This however didn't please his instructor as the grumpy man reprimanded the young blonde to stop slacking off and perform the move.

"Oi! Naruto! What do think you're doing there slacking off bakero! Get your blonde ass over here and perform the bakudo like everyone else!"

Naruto yawned as he got away from the wall and poised into a sluggish position facing his target as he aimed, right palm outstretched, at the human sized bean bag and performed the move.

"**Bakudo number four, Hainawa!"**

It was a shortened incantation of the move he shouted and performed as the rope of energy shot from his hand and squeezed the life out of its target. Though it didn't have the full power of a fully performed one, it was much stronger than that of his peers.

His classmates were shocked at his sluggish yet more effective performance than their best efforts put together. Naruto's insructor however wasn't pleased as it was a half-baked move.

He then spoke to the blonde with an evil grin on his face.

"Nice work! But you still have to perform the move twenty-nine more times unless...you can show me an advanced move. I have heard rumors about your private training with your father and your constant research in the library. Show it to me, and you can have the rest of the day off."

This got the attention of the crowd as they gathered to see the performance of a now livened blonde as he began to show the fruits of his trainning on his now 'restrained' target.

The young blonde widened his stance as he held his fully streched right arm with his left hand and closed his eyes. He meditated to charge up enough reiatsu for the move he would perform as he began the incantation.

"**Carriage of thunder. Bridge a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six. mirror your path across the sky. And close your doors."**

At the final phrase of his incantation he opened his eyes to see his target. His eyes now burning even brighter as his reiatsu made a visible glow around his body. Feeling the charge of the energy course towards his palm, he raised his right hand while supporting it with his left and spoke the last lines of the incantation.

**"Bakudo number eighty one, soren ****rikujōkōrō!"**

A flash of light then beamed from his hand as they arched and fell upon the the dummy. Twelve wide beams of light formed around the target and embraced it in a heavenly clutch with six on its midsection holding its arms as well and the other six on its legs.

The poor dummy had the life squeezed out of it as it fell to the ground from its post.

The sheer display of power awed the crowd and gave a jawdropped expression on his insructor as the blonde strolled out of the academy.

"Piece of cake. I'll be seeing you tommorow sensei!"

The blonde shouted before making his final exit out into the streets of Sereitei.

The crowd gathered around the site where the dummy had fallen just stood in awe while some of them began to murmur in the back. But overall, it was more than just a passing grade, but an amazing display of ability never seen before since Ichigo became a shinigami.

Meanwhile in the fifth division, Sarutobi just cried anime tears as he 'happily' signed the several papers that stacked up on his desk. The wise old warrior was so engrossed in his work that he did not notice his fukutaicho and another person in academy hakama enter his office until the brown haired girl cleared her voice before she spoke.

"Taicho, here are some more papers that need signing. And Naruto is here to see you."

She said as she dumped the heavy load of papers on his desk. Sarutobi paid no attention to the stacks of paper as he peered over and asked the smiling young blonde in front of him.

"Oh, Naruto! Why are you here so early?"

The young blonde just gave his infamous foxy grin as he quickly replied,

"I was given the day off!"

Hinamori narrowed her eyes at the blonde. She had known the young blonde for two years now and could read him like a book everytime he had come over to visit her taicho. After all, she grew fond of the stories of the blonde and his antics in the real world as well as the life of Sarutobi and the Namikazes. This was especially true since she had been accompanying her taicho to their regular dinners in that house.

Feeling that her intuition was right this time, she swiftly, but 'carefully' interrogated her blonde companion.

"I can tell that you made a deal with one of the instructors there. Do you just have to show off everytime?"

The brown haired girl said as she glared at the blonde menacingly. For some reason, she just reminded him of his old crush Sakura with the way she acted.

The panicked blonde just scratched his head as he smiled and explained to them the situation.

"Well that's about it…I'll be seeing you later at dinner oji-san, Momo-chan. Ja ne!"

Sarutobi and Hinamori just looked shocked at the blonde's response as he bid them goodbye and took a stroll out and back on the streets of Sereitei.

Hinamori chuckled at his antics.

S"What's so funny Momo-chan?"

He said as was curious of his fukutaicho's reason for laughing.

"Oh, he just reminded me of Toushiro taicho before he became a shinigami captain. He was so much like him."

"I think you mean he _is_ like him. But I see your point. Naruto has grown tremendously. Already a genius at such a young age. His life here is so different now eh Momo-chan?"

The brown haired girl nodded and smiled as she responded to him.

"Yes, it sure is."

True enough, Naruto's life was no longer what it once was. It was more than just a reversal for the young blonde. It was as if the tables have turned.

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Chapter seven down. Why did I have Naruto train in chakra first before reiatsu? The reasons will be explained in the following chapter. You now have an idea what timeline he is in. the next few chapters would be mostly training and character buildup. There will be action as well and a guest appearance from another dimension later on.

I also need suggestions for other bakudo and kido spells not mentioned in the manga and anime.

Arigato gozaimashta for reading another chapter in Naruto: Death's Second Chance.

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**Bakudo number eighty one, soren ****rikujōkōrō(Binding Path number eighty one, Twin Lotus Six Rods Prison of Light)**- a double spelled version of the bakudo number forty one with twelve rods instead of six. the doubled version not only restrains the target, but acts as a reiatsu barrier for the restrained target.


	8. The Power of the Soul

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuiubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews my readers. This chapter is the longest so far and will reveal a little more of his training and timeline. On a side note, there will be a lot of flashbacks in this one.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_  


**Chapter 8**

_**The Power of the Soul**_

From our last escapade…

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It is now the third year into our story and Naruto's progress had greatly increased.

A new day had dawned for the young shinobi…let me rephrase that statement, shinigami-to-be, as he woke up once more to the silent orchestra of dawn.

The young blonde methodically performed his morning routine before he lazily marched towards the training grounds behind the Namikaze mansion.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the office of the sotaicho where Commander Yamamoto- Genryusai sat down to his usual desk-filled paperwork for the morning, Retsu came in promptly to give the report on the status of Naruto to the half-awake commander.

"Sotaicho, with all due respect, I am here to give you the report of Naruto's progress within these past three years."

The calm beauty said with a delighted tone to her voice indicating that her report was something to enjoy listening to.

The old warrior then cleared his desk as he sat down thoughtfully to discuss the young blonde's progress.

"So how goes his progress Unohana?"

The calm beauty then replied to his remark with her astounding report.

"His progress is remarkable. He is like a sponge. He is no doubt one of the few geniuses that have entered the academy and breeze right through every subject with flying colors for the past three years. But not only that, it seems he is attempting to create his own shinigami techniques using his past knowledge. I'm sure you have heard about his little experiments by adapting his past lifetime techniques with our own."

The old warrior looked amused as a weak smile entered his hardened face. He then replied,

"Yes, I have seen some of his…jutsus, was the word. Though it seemed a fruitless effort at first seeing that most were ineffective towards shinigamis of fukutaicho class and above, until some of it he managed to succeed in creating, and half of those chakra-reiatsu fusion techniques are somewhat effective. He may be on the edge of something new. Anything else you might add my dear?"

Unohana's face then dropped into a more serious tone when she heard that last statement. It was her next half of the report that she was waiting to give to the old warrior that agitated her into seriousness. She then mustered her will and fired away the next report.

"Yes Sotaicho, unfortunately, his progress was too good. I can see that the blonde is no longer interested in the shinigami arts since he already mastered all of the basics taught to him in his current year level. In order to keep him at his current upstanding pace, he needs a challenge."

Her words raised an eyebrow on the old warrior's face.

"A challenge you say? Aside from his personally crafted fusion arts, what other challenge do you suppose should be given to the young genius?"

This was to be expected. The blonde's fusion techniques of chakra and reiatsu were more than enough of a challenge in itself when he showed some of it during a free spar. Retsu Unohana looked back in her mind as she remembered that faithful day.

_Flashback_

_It was a cool day as the breeze lightly swept over the stone built square where two figures stood in the center as a small crowd gathered to watch the battle between the rising star of the academy Naruto, and the former renowned genius of the academy, Hitsuguya Toushiro._

_The two in a flash, charged full frontal as sword met kunai. The white haired teen pushed Naruto with the force of his steel. Naruto leaped back to avoid a side slash from Toushiro. While still in midair, he then performed a seal. But this time, he performed each handseal in concert with the incantation he started to perform as he began the attack._

"_**Walls of Iron Sand. A priestly pagoda. Glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright. Silent to the end."**_

_After he said the incantation and landed on the ground just in time to finish the last seal, he then pointed his right middle and index fingers towards the white haired teen and shouted the last lines of the incantation._

"_**Kinkoudo number one, gochutekkan **__**fūin!"**_

_Immediately, five huge pillars__ fell upon the unsuspecting __Tōshirō. However, only four managed to hit the white haired teen as it missed his right hand which he used to stab the sword in the ground and use as support. Seeing the success of the attack, Naruto smirked as he grabbed his kunai to dash forward so he could land the finishing blow. Only to realize that his entire lower body was frozen to the ground. As the young blonde traced the line of ice from his feet, he saw that it ended at the sword of Tōshirō. _

_The blonde then made his foxy grin as he said,_

"_Looks like a draw eh Shiro-chan?"_

_The white haired teen had a vein throbbing on his forehead as he said,_

"_It's Hitsugaya taicho to you asshole! But yes, it is a draw. You're getting better at this Naruto. I can't wait to see what else you could come up with and your zanpaktou._

_The young blonde just laughed as he quickly shouted "__**Kai**__", effectively releasing the seal on his white haired friend who also released Naruto's ice prison. As the two stepped back into the crowd, the onlookers of the battle could only stare in awe at the quick skirmish that took place between Naruto and the captain of the tenth division, Hitsugaya Tōshirō._

_The white haired teen had green eyes, which also was the same color of his sash that held his zanpaktou in place over his sleevles haori and __shihakushō,__ in a diagonal position across his back for his right arm to reach with ease. the zanpaktou itself had a blue hilt and sheath and a four pointed guard._

_As the white haired teen and the young blonde both wiped their faces with a towel, a bubbly orange head with long hair and ample bust size leaned over to Tōshirō while smiling innocently._

"_That was a good workout taicho! But you could've won if you took it more seriously."_

_The bubbly orange head said in a sing song fashion as even her baby blue eyes smiled in a u shape. _

_But the calm and collective white haired teen protested as he shook his head and said,_

"_No Matsumoto, his technique was THAT good. It felt like my body was hit by Izuru's Wabisuke twenty times. If I hadn't used __Hyōrinmaru at the last second, he would've won. He has a lot of skill for him to combine his past lifetime techniques with kido and use it effortlessly."_

_The rest of the crowd looked jaw dropped as they digested the information. Two of those people in the crowd cried anime tears as the bubbly orange head walked over to the two in tears and collected her spoils for a well placed bet. She chuckled happily as she said,_

"_Looks like the next bet will be on Naruto next time huh Ikkaku and __Yumichika?"_

_Both men just sighed in defeat while on a balcony just a little off from the battleground, an old man clutching his cane made a weak smile before walking away._

_End of Flashback_

Her memory of that fateful day was exactly the point she drove at the commander. Thus, it makes Unohana's next point even clearer as she answered with all grace and respect.

"I believe that he should be accelerated with the graduating batch of this year."

Her words had now fully awakened the battle scarred, bald old man as he sharpened his gaze at her and raised both eyebrows before he answered back to her darted request.

"Transferred to the battlefield directly from training? It hasn't been done in quite a while now. Despite its benefits for Sereitei as a whole, give a better reason to change my mind."

Firm and steadfast to the law was the commander. However, his last statement showed that he was willing to make an exception if the blonde fit perfectly into the plan given to him.

The calm beauty noticed his challenge and took it full force. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she answered him with her reason for accelerating our blonde hero to an advanced level.

"As you know, if it hadn't been for the efforts of Ichigo and his friends in Hueco Mundo, Aizen's plan would not be delayed this far from what could have been only three short months into a three year time period. With this in mind, we have to be ready to make a final assault to end his plot. But without a taicho to lead the ninth division, we would be short in combat efficiency when that time comes."

The sotaicho, who was sharper than his sword, finished his sentence for her with what would be the predicted answer.

"And because the current fukutaicho of the ninth division cannot perform bankai yet, you are hoping that a younger blonde genius with more potential can. That's a very interesting point of view Unohana. Who do you suppose can be his personal proctors for the final tests?"

The commander was beyond intrigued by his words alone. The calm Retsu smiled as they discussed further of the surprise that would befall our blonde hero. That same blonde however, was busy training with his father and back at the training yard in the Namikaze compound.

Within the past three years, his control over his reiatsu and chakra has grown tremendously to a near flawlessness. His speed and strength has grown as well thanks to the now overall three ton seal and restoration seals that encompass his body. The training went so well that even he was surprised that his zanjutsu was even better than his academy teacher Kaien Shikanu, and his kido was nowhere near what the academy teachers could ever hope to teach him.

As the young blonde got ready in a defensive sword stance ready to strike, his father, sweating from the workout, dropped his readied stance and motioned for them to take a break.

The younger blonde then dropped his sword on the ground. As the sword fell, it began to glow red before transforming into his nine tailed companion. While both master and servant were laying down exhausted form the training, his father took the liberty to head back to take some scrolls for him to learn from.

While both master and servant sat in the now crater filled clearing, the master decided to break the silence.

"Kyuubi, I've noticed a lot of things while we were training."

**Like what things?**

The fiery kitsune asked as he opened his right eye towards the blonde who responded with seriousness.

"Well for one, despite my almost perfect reiatsu control, it's more difficult to gather it when we went to our first field test near Karakura town than here. Even more suprising, chakra was easier to gather there than here despite the limited jutsus I could perform with this soul based body. What's the real relationship between chakra and reiatsu?"

'_**So the gaki noticed it. Not bad for a human. Most would have completely ignored it and continued using reiatsu and completely forget about chakra which converts all their chakra into reiatsu.'**_

The kyuubi thought as he now opened both his eyes and ears to hear the blonde's next words.

"Another thing I noticed, I can't do a jutsu and Kido at the same time. Aside from certain sealing jutsus that I can combine with Bakudo to enforce it, Kido and jutsus aren't completely compatible because of chakra and reiatsu."

**What else?**

The now amused fox questioned as he gazed into the flaming azure eyes of the blonde. Naruto began to fascinate the fiery kitsune with his enlightenment from their training.

"Okaa-san said that when you use reiatsu, you tend to lose more of your memories of your past life. Yet I haven't forgotten a single thing. I feel it's related to my training as well. And finally, I tried using reiatsu to do jutsus and chakra to do Kido, Hakuda, Hoho, and Zanjutsu. I ended up with weird results."

**Such as what happened now am I right?**

Replied the kyuubi to what the young blonde mentioned. Naruto didn't hesitate to continue sharing his discovery to his nine-tailed companion as he said,

"Hait. When I tried molding reiatsu for the jutsus, it worked fine, no, BETTER than I would with chakra. But when I molded chakra for the shingami arts, which was hard in itself by the way, I ended up with half-assed Kido, sucky Hakuda, almost no Hoho, and really weak Zanjutsu. It's as if chakra isn't present at all in this world."

Seeing the opportune moment, the amused fox then stood upon a newly formed stump from a clean cut of Naruto's zanpaktou and carefully explained to his jailer what was going on with his reiatsu and chakra.

**The reason why these things happen is because of the relationship between chakra and reiatsu. Chakra is the energy of life. Reiatsu is the energy of death. It is in a way the relationship of Ki and magic with Ki the physical and Magic the spiritual.**

The fox then paused as he leapt off the stump and dug two holes in the ground and drew a deep line to connect them. He then filled it with water from Naruto's small canteen so that both holes were filled. Afterwards, he continued.

**Chakra is the pool on the left while reiatsu on the right. When there is too much chakra, there is very little reiatsu and vice versa to keep the balance of power in check. Some worlds are born with this balance in which it is equal. Others have extremities in which there is too little of one and more of the other. That is why you have a hard time utilizing chakra in this dimension and easier in the other.**

Said the fox as he demonstrated by tossing the water back and forth through the small canal he made between the two holes.

Naruto looked deep in thought. After several seconds he then said.

"So depending upon the balance of the world, there might be more chakra than reiatsu making it harder to mold the other. Does this apply also to those born from those worlds or at least have the same affinity as those worlds?"

The fox laughed at his statements. It was more than he could bear before he finally quieted down and answered the puzzled blonde.

**Gaki, you catch on quick! Yes, it does apply to those of the same nature as their worlds. Souls as you know are reiatsu based. Meaning chakra is less proficient to a soul than one with a living body. If it were not so, then you wouldn't be using reiatsu as often now would you?**

The young blonde nodded. Seeing his acknowledgement, the kyuubi continued.

**This also explains why you're having a harder time using chakra and reiatsu together since you're not in perfect harmony with both energies because you lack a living body for chakra.**

"But what about my memories?"

Naruto asked his sly companion feeling that aspect had been left out. The kyuubi only sighed as he answered him…

**The reason for your memories is because of your high chakra reserves which continually cycle in between chakra and reiatsu due to your training. This, plus me, a chakra based being bound to your soul, keeps your memories intact. The only downside is your soul ages extremely slowly. You might become like Yachiru, the fukutaicho of Zaraki Kenpachi, who never ages, only matures.**

_Flashback_

_Naruto wandered around Sereitei for quite a bit during his off time from schoolwork. As the young blonde waywardly roamed like a vagabond wolf, he paused for a minute as he looked towards the building to his right. It was the eleventh division headquarters—the very headquarters of the man who took his father's life and the place where the artist of the __**Shiki Fujin**__ resided._

_Naruto however did not look pleased as he glared hard his flaming azure eyes at the building and said to himself,_

"_So THIS is the place of that teme and his 'cute little fukutaicho'. I think I'll pay them a visit and shove my zanpaktou up that teme's ass and his fukutaicho's as well."_

_The young blonde said to himself proudly. As he was about to enter the stone carved building with a giant version of the captain's insignia on the front, he felt an arcane, but powerful presence behind him._

_Instinctively, he quickly unsheathed the zanpaktou attached to his back with his right hand and made a quick, one-handed downward slice to the unsuspecting foe behind him._

_The sound of metal cleaving flesh never came. The young blonde looked at what force could have stopped his blade and ironically saw a bubbly pink haired little girl holding the blade in place with only her thumb which was unscathed by the sharp serrated edge of the steel._

_Naruto was dumbfounded as a sudden shiver ran up his spine. How could someone so small and seemingly frail stop his attack? She must have been extremely strong to accomplish that feat._

_Seeing his dumbfounded expression, the little pink haired girl then giggled as she said,_

"_What you doin' here whiskers-chan? Did you come to play with Ken-chan? He's out playing with some hollows right now so come back later."_

_She said and ended it with a smile. Naruto looked frightened and pissed at the annoying girl in front of him._

_Aside from her short pink hair that fell slightly above shoulder length, and brown eyes, she had a permanent blush on her face, and wore the same but shorter attire as any fukutaicho and had her zanpaktou behind her in a loose cord with its sheath having a wheels attached to it and a child-like flower design._

_Though disturbed by the immense strength of the girl in front of him, he noticed the sash tied around her left arm that read eleven in kanji. He then began to scream at her._

"_Kuso! You're the fukutaicho of Zaraki Kenpachi! I've got a bone to pick with you gaki!"_

_The unnerved Yachiru just laughed. Naruto was very annoyed at this point by the sight of several veins throbbing on his head. Yachiru then stopped laughing and screamed at him as well._

"_B-A-K-A. That's the spelling of Whiskers-chan. You should respect your elders more. I'm way older than you BAKA-chan!"_

_Naruto got even more pissed as he threw a punch at her only to get bitten in the arm and beaten to a pulp by a ravenous pink-haired banshee. After a full minute of 'playing with the gaki' as Yachiru would call it, she then happily skipped inside the eleventh division headquarters leaving a half-dead blonde in a crater. The terrified blonde then said to himself…_

"_N-n-note to s-s-self…Stay away from p-pink h-haired g-g-girls. D-death is certain."_

_End of Flashback_

Naruto shivered at the thought of Yachiru, almost completely ignoring the point made by his nine-tailed friend. But he soon snapped out of his nostalgia of the pain as he remembered something the kyuubi said that caught his mind. He then quoted the words once more to his nine tailed companion.

"Chakra based being?"

The young blonde was even more perplexed at what his tenant said. The fox knew this and decided to explain further.

**I am a being that forsook its humanity for power. In order to gain power, I became one with my soul's affinity and in the process, lost control of the power and gave in to it. It was good to feel all that power, but at the same time I slowly lost my sanity until I became the being you see before you.**

Naruto just looked shocked as he gazed into the red-slitted eyes of the kyubbi. Who would've thought that this unpredictable force of nature was once human?

The wide-eyed blonde then asked him with obvious curiosity.

"How'd you do it? And YOU WERE HUMAN?!"

The young blonde said as he screamed and pointed at the fox with a jaw-dropped expression.

The nine-tailed kitsune finally made his point that he was dying to tell him. He just waited for this moment and now he could properly explain to the young blonde of HIS past life.

**I was once a human like you. It was during a time when your world was young and the balance between spirit and body were in perfect harmony. Human beings at that time were one with nature and spirits and Kami was delighted at that world. Eventually governance needed to take place for it to remain serene. So Kami created five beings to govern over the affinity they were given. Under the governance of those five beings, the spirits and nature under their reign took up their affinities. I was under Suzaku's reign when I was born. I was considered mischievous and a prankster as well as stubborn and loyal. But when the Battle of the Five Elements came, every human being on earth at that time gave in to their elemental affinity to protect themselves from the gods' wrath. Most were able to return to their human form after, some couldn't.**

The blonde nodded and said,

"Not surprising there. So you became the nine-tailed fox when you performed whatever technique was necessary to keep you and your family from being caught in their war. But you didn't answer my first question."

Said the impatient blonde as he crossed his arms and sharpened his ever flaming gaze at the fox. The kitsune gazed back with his red, slitted eyes challenging the blonde's own azure ones. The tension was so thick that their killing intents struggled in canceling each other out until the fox closed his eyes in defeat and sighed.

With the kitsune's sigh, came the smile of the blonde as he leaned closer to listen. The kitsune had no choice but to reply to the hungry blonde. The kitsune turned his back and looked at the sky overhead as his nine tails faced it with him. After another sigh, the fox then said,

**When you get a living body back, then I'll tell you.**

The blonde face-faulted as a sweat drop formed just in time for his father to come in carrying several scrolls and a face of enlightenment. The older blonde then sat down beside his son as he opened one of the scrolls while seriously talking to his son.

"Naruto, I have some good news, and some bad news."

The younger blonde looked at his father with a look of concern as he swallowed hard not knowing what to expect. His father then continued.

"The good news is your going to be accelerated to the graduating batch! The bad news is they have chosen your proctors for a special exam which will be a week ahead of schedule."

"WHAT?! THAT MEANS I ONLY HAVE A MONTH TO LEARN BANKAI!!!"

The young blonde screamed as he ran in circles panicking.

His father on the other hand just scratched his face as he said,

"Calm down Naruto. Besides, that's the least of your worries. Since you've been accelerated, your five minutes late already befo—"

A flash of yellow cut off the older blonde's words as Naruto shunpo'd his way to the academy leaving his father and kyubbi in the battle scarred terrain that was their backyard.

"Well, at least Naruto finished most of his shinobi training with us."

Said the older blonde as he took out a small black book from his pocket and opened it to the page with the latest writing.

"Good, there is still space here for the other justsus."

The older blonde smiled as he said to himself.

The kyuubi noticed the book he had in his hands and asked,

**You have his book. So you also know how to write in the ancient tongue. How long have you been filling in his notes?**

The older blonde then responded while filling in the notebook the information from the scrolls.

"For the past two years now. After Jiraya taught me the archaic sealing technique, I've found ways to write it so that anyone who knows the language can read it but only those of the Namikaze family can unseal it. Nifty trick huh?"

The former yondaime said as he kept writing in the notebook. However, his foxy companion smirked. Minato heard his smirk and asked,

"Is there something else about the language you're not telling me?"

The kyuubi saw his pleading look and complied with his request.

**The sealing technique is both a seal and an incantation because of the information needed to form each letter in the language.**

Minato was a genius for a reason. He never knew the extent of the possibilities with the seal that he made, but he knew that there were possibilities with it that even he couldn't imagine. He knew it was in itself an incantation when read, but he never knew that it could also be a magic spell in the process if the right information was pieced together. His realization was clear when the kyuubi saw his wide eyed amazement. Minato then asked the kyuubi,

"Does Naruto know about this?"

The sly kitsune then responded as he grinned in amusement.

**Yes, I told him. At first he didn't believe me thinking it's just a forbidden shinobi technique. But when he and I sneaked in the Archives and read of its origins and uses, he just gaped at it.**

_Flashback_

_As they snuck past the guards and into the elevator that leads to the room full of ancient records known as the Archives, The young blonde impatiently spoke to his tentant._

"_Oi! Are you sure it's here?"_

_The kyuubi responded back as he said,_

_**Baka! Keep it down! And yes, it's here. But we might have a hard time looking for it.**_

_The still skeptical blonde then said as he scratched his head and grinned,_

"_C'mon! It's not like it's one of those humongous skyscrapers we saw in Tokyo when we went there on a field trip. How big can it be?"_

_How wrong and naïve was the young blonde? The moment he opened the doors and pushed the button on the elevator that moved in the room, his jaw dropped all the way to the floor while his eyes became saucers at the mere sight of the vastness of the Archives. _

_It was as tall if not taller than the skyscrapers of Tokyo with the several shelves lined and stacked upward and sideways with only the elevator as the only means of exit from the vastness of the rooms. Not even the wall lamps that lined the walls could light up the gigantic room._

_The kyuubi, who eagerly wanted to finish their insertion into the catacombs of knowledge, wasted no time and leaped upon the computer near the elevator controls and began to push the buttons with his paw, the coordinates of the location about the ancient tongue._

_When they arrived at the said coordinates, both master and tenant leaped off the elevator and began searching for the book they were looking for._

_Lucky for them, Naruto had his __**Bunshins**__ look all over until one clone found the book. Naruto then dispersed all his clones and started reading through it, page per page. His eyes grew wider with every page he turned as he realized the potential the archaic seal contained. He then said to his nine tailed companion._

"_Wow! This…this…this is…amazing…"_

_The blonde was speechless. It was more than he could handle knowing he has such power in his hands. While Naruto was processing the immense amount of knowledge he had just gained, the red maned kitsune slipped one of his tails into Naruto's pocket until it grasped an empty scroll. The kyuubi then opened the scroll and sealed the book in the scroll. _

_This act however snapped the young blonde back into consciousness as he then began to panic when he protested saying,_

"_Oi…Oi.. OI! Are we supposed to do that?! Isn't this stealing?!"_

_He said while flailing his arms around as they returned to the elevator._

_The kyuubi paid him no heed as he grabbed the scroll with one of his tails and both hurried out of the room and back to the Namikaze compound._

_End of Flashback_

The Kyuubi then chuckled darkly as he remembered the look on Naruto's face the whole day after that misadventure. Minato could only look puzzled as he sweat dropped thinking the Kyuubi had lost its mind.

----------o)0(o----------

Naruto was not pleased with this turn of events. To him, both were bad news since things were much more rushed than his lax lifestyle for the past three years. As he **shunpo'd** his way into class, he leaped just in time for roll call. The entire class just laughed at the now prone blonde on the floor, much to his chagrin.

While the young blonde was blushing beet red, a calm beauty just behind his prone form near the blackboard began to speak.

"Looks like you're just in time Naruto. For a second there, your perfect attendance record would have been tarnished."

When the young blonde stood up and looked at the woman he recognized her. It was the fourth division captain that helped him during his first day of class when he was running late for the first time.

The young blonde just gave his infamous foxy grin as he said,

"Well this is nostalgic. I hope I can catch up."

With that, the day started like any normal day except that Naruto pushed himself even harder than before. It was now more of a challenge as he was forced to quickly cope up. Though he didn't have to do much concerning the practical tests, he had a long way to go paperwork-wise. Lucky for him, he had enough chakra control to manipulate what little chakra he had to form **Kage Bunshins** for his paperwork when the day finally ended.

The young blonde then left his clones to do most of the work while he went home for his training in chakra and reiatsu control as well as his final study in genjutsu from his mother. Upon his arrival at the mansion, he then quickly went to his room and changed into his training outfit. It was a bluish black hakama over his fishnet undershirt with white striping the edges of the sleeves and jacket and tied by a long cyan obi. He also had a cyan scarf and his legs were wrapped to prevent the loose leg garments from hindering mobility and tabi boots.

When he was all set for his training, he then immediately ran out to the area furthest in the compound just past some trees were his mother awaited in the middle of what looks like several small ponds close together that they are just a foot away from each other, but far enough that they don't collide with each other and form a huge lake.

As the blonde approached the edge of the first pond, his mother then called out to him.

"You ready to rumble son?! We don't have much time before your big exam!"

She hollered out to him while pumping her fist in the air.

The young blonde's eyes burned even brighter as they turned a flaming cyan. Filled with determination, he hollered back,

"I'm ready for anything okaa-san! Let's do this!"

With that, he took his first step over the pond as he stood on water. When his mother could see him move into position, she then reached her zanpaktou with her right hand as she did one-handed seals with her left. When she finished making her seals, she disappeared from sight. Since Naruto was under a powerful genjutsu, he couldn't hear her or see her. He could only see what the genjutsu projected to him. At first, he was in a bamboo forest. He nearly fell into the pond he was still standing in until he regained focus and began walking.

"I hope I make it all the way to the center this time."

The young blonde said to himself as he remembered the objective of this training from his mother.

_Flashback_

_As they both stood by the pond, Kushina began to explain to her son the objective of his training today._

"_Listen well Naruto, I'll only explain this once."_

The _young blonde nodded at her statement. Seeing his determination she then continued._

"_Genjutsus__ are techniques that use the chakra in the victim's nervous system to create illusions. Attention to detail is the key in performing it as well as countering it. Genjutsu affects the five senses. So those under the influence of genjutsu either freeze in place or lose consciousness, depending on how capable they are in recognizing and defending against it. There are several ways to counter genjutsu. Because it uses the victim's own chakra against them, the target can cancel the genjutsu by disrupting their own chakra flow. So chakra control is one of the key points in protection and attack concerning genjutsu or any other skill for that matter."_

_The young blonde then thought hard. After a few seconds, he nodded in acknowledgement. With that, his mother continued her explanation._

"_What we're gonna do today is improve both together__ so that it's almost second nature to you. You will wear this chakra-reiatsu barrier clothing. It will hinder your flow of chakra and reiatsu that way you don't snap out of the powerful genjutsu I will place upon you. You will still have consciousness, but your mind will be constantly decieved of your environment making it hard for you to distinguish between reality and illusion while you attempt to reach the center were I am without straying from the field or falling in the water. If you can reach the center, you have finished the training. Understood?"_

_After hearing her explanation, he then looked over the grounds where they would attempt the exercise. When he saw the training ground he then asked,_

"_Okaa-san, but what about maintaining chakra while i'm on one of the ponds? It will be hard trying to maintain my chakra or reiatsu flow while I'm caught in that genjutsu."_

_The fired up mother heard his point and was expecting him to see that. She then stood up and turned around to move towards the center. Before she took the first step, she said,_

"_That's the whole point of this exersise. The key to this training is not being able to always counter the genjutsu. But learning how to feel your way through it were others cannot while still maintaining chakra flow. It dosen't take a smart person to defeat a genjutsu. It just takes awareness and absolute concentration and focus."_

_End of Flashback_

Naruto remembered that day very well because he failed very often in this exercise. He then said to himself,

"Somehow, this would be the hardest training I've ever gone through. I managed to almost make it there yesterday. I hope I can finally end it today."

After he muttered his little speech, he then lowered his hitai-ate over his eyes—The first of his senses that was decieved by the genjutsu. From the center of the field, his mother smiled as she called out six **Kage Bunshins** and sent them to ambush the blonde.

Naruto began to march towards the center. Because his eyes were blinded by the cloth, he did not rely on sight. His next sense would be sound. The young blonde heard what sounded like footsteps behind him. The whirring sound of a shuriken moving was then heard in front of him. He then threw a punch in front of him and killed the real clone in front of him and moved forward, ignoring the whiring sound behind him. The whiring sound faded as it passed through him. It was an illusion.

Since sound failed, smell was next. Naruto then dashed to the side avoiding another real clone's attack. He then nimbly leaped into what felt like solid ground. He then smelled smoke from a smoke grenade thrown by the clone in front of him. He then jumped back and kicked what was a barrel underneath him. It then exploded killing the second clone as the illusionary grenade passed him by.

Naruto then turned around and paced forward. Kushina all the while was enjoying the display of inner strength her son displayed. Obviously the three main target senses were ineffective to Naruto at this point due to daily training.

As Naruto was getting closer to the center, he felt a kunai pierce his left cheek from a clone behind him and the clone wrapped a chain around him to hold him in place. He could taste his own blood from the wound. Another clone grabbed him by the legs attempting to drag him down the water. Naruto then jumped and killed the two real clones in the air with a strong kick to both their heads. It was another illusionary attack to the senses.

When he landed back on the last pond to the center. He smirked when he heard his mother's and her last two remaining clone's voices as they ran around him in circles

"Great work Naruto! You finally understand how to do it. But can you make it to the center this time?"

They said as they kept running around him in circles effectively creating a whirlpool in the center where Naruto stood. He was losing ground on his chakra control from the whirlpool.

His thoughts began to rage like the whirlpool he stood on.

'_Normally, I'd think this is another illusion but its not. I can feel the flow of chakra around me change drastically unlike the illusions which had__ a steady rhythm to it. I need to take control.'_

Naruto then ran up the swirling vortex and leaped from the top. His mother's clone's however, saw this and leaped upward too in order to prevent him from reaching the center. The clones however couldn't reach him as both were sucked in the vortex from the chakra strings spewing out of the vortex that caught them.

Naruto safely landed on the soft ground in the center just behind his mother who was still standing on the now receding pond.

He then turned around and gave her a thumbs up and smiled. She then smiled as well and did the same thing too. Just after he made his victory gesture. He fell on the soft ground were he sighed in exhaustion. His mother then released the genjutsu and began to take off the special robes that he wore and his hitai-ate while she asked him,

"So how did you tackle the challenges?"

The blonde who was now undressed to his boxers replied.

"I just let my chakra flow around me like it would within me. By doing so, it allows me to feel changes in the chakra flow like the illusions effectively numbing the overall genjutsu. If I hadn't been wearing the training robes, I would've completely dispelled and countered the genjutsu. The last challenge was hard since it wasn't a genjutsu. If I hadn't put up the flowing chakra coat, I'd fail once more. Instead of trying to break the flow of your chakra or go against it, I made my own chakra flow to flow with it by expanding the flowing chakra coat to flow in the same direction as the vortex and trapping your clones in between your chakra and mine. When I did that, I could walk out while your clones attempted to do the same but end up failing because they were caught in my flow the first place. That way, I'm using both the flow of your chakra and mine as a stepping stone out while keeping you locked in."

Kushina just hugged him in amazement at how much he's grown. He has mastered the genjutsu and chakra control training before any other training he's received. If he could overcome his weakness like this and turn it into his greatest strength, what else could stop him?

It was dinner time and both mother and son just came in time for dinner where Minato, Kyuubi, Sarutobi, and Hinamori were already seated.

Conversation started as each talked about their day. Eventually it drifted to Naruto's acceleration and his success in training. They were all astounded with his constantly rising growth. Even Kyuubi who looked the most detached began to take more interest with his progress.

After an hour or so, the Namikaze's bid their goodbye's to Sarutobi who still had work to accomplish. After a couple of minutes later it was time for Hinamori to leave as well. Naruto volunteered to escort her back to the fifth division headquarters on the count that 'it was dangerous at night.'

As the two walked side by side towards the fifth division, Hinamori could feel that something has been bothering her blonde friend. She then asked him with concern.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun? Is there something bothering you?"

her voice pierced his heart like the barbeque stick on some dango that was being consumed by one of the night patrols on top of the walls within Sereitei. Naruto then said,

"Naruto-kun…the only one who actually called me that was Hinata-chan…"

Feeling that it was connected to the incident that brought her friend to this world, she then said,

"You can't let go can you?"

He then replied to her as he steadily opened his mind to her.

"I'm not sure if I truly can forget her and what happened that day. She said she loved me, yet, somehow…I'm not sure I feel the same…maybe I'm just regretting what happened then. I'm still confused, but I know I must move on. It's so hard…and the more I try to forget and move on, the more I miss her."

The brown haird girl then replied to her disheartened companion,

"I'm sorry. I can't help you there. I was in the same situation when Aizen taicho staged his death and defected to the hollows so I'm in the same boat as you."

The blonde saw her sad demeanor towards the subject. Before he could say more, Hinamori continued.

"I really wish it wasn't true though. But I know that he didn't care about me the same way I did and was just using me. I couldn't get over it. Even now I'm having a hard time. But I understand now that I was just admiring someone who didn't care instead of admiring the people who already cared for me…even if sometimes they don't show it."

Her words struck a a sharp note on the heartstrings of the young blonde beside her. He felt it because he was in the same position as her when he was busy chasing after Sakura. And she was right. There were people who loved him though he never knew it. Ironically, the kind of love he has been looking for…was nowhere to be found when he began looking for the very person who contained it for him.

While looking upon the stars in thought, Naruto then said to his female companion,

"I knew it. You never find it until its missing from you."

Hinamori nodded as a small tear erupted from her eye. Luckily for them, they were already at the fifth division headquarters. As they finally bid goodbye to one another with Naruto turning around to leave, Hinamori then stopped him midway and said,

"Naruto-kun…Shiro-chan, no, Toushiro taicho said something that's been helping me lately."

Naruto with all ears then paid attention to her next words. Without hestitation, she confidently, but humbly said,

"Toushiro taicho said that, when your in a pinch, think about the reasons why you do what you do. Think about all your precious people and those who truly care for you and are willing to make sacrifices for you. Because if it is worth saving you to them, it is worth saving them for you."

Naruto then felt her words dug deep, but in a good way. He began to remember his reason's for being a shinigami and why he has been persuing this new life so eagerly. He wanted to protect everyone he cared for. Even if they don't know it was him protecting them. He wanted to be their guardian angel of the night simply because he cares. The answer was so simple. There was nothing complex to think about. It was hard to believe that such a simple answer was the key to such a heavy burden. Though Naruto still felt uneasy, somehow…just somehow…he regained his resolve as his eyes became the flaming azure ones once again.

Hinamori then bowed in respect and turned away only for Naruto to call her.

"Momo-chan…Wait!"

She then turned her head back to hear his last words for the night.

"Tell Shiro-chan I said thanks…oh, and before I forget, good luck together! Ja ne!"

The young blonde disappeared in a flash of yellow leaving a blushing Hinamori in his wake.

Naruto **shunpo'd** as fast as he could towards his favorite thinking spot, the execution chamber. As he stood over that cliff, he saw his nine-tailed friend already there bathing in the moonlight that brightened the sky.

The fox on the other hand just snobbed the blonde as he said to him,

**Gaki, you just had to tell her that didn't you?**

Naruto knew that his kitsune companion could feel what he felt because of the **Shiki Fujin **seal placed upon them. The young blonde then responded,

"At least she gets a chance to right her mistakes this time around."

The kyuubi could only gaze at the moonlight as he understood what his master was saying. He then responded by saying to Naruto,

**Gaki…Look at the moon. Tell me, why does the moon h****ave light when only the sun emanates light?**

The young blonde gazed upon the moon. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again, allowing his now cyan eyes glow upon the vast darkness. He then responded to the fiery kitsune's question.

"It has light kyuubi, because the sun provided light for it. No one is perfect. Everyone is just like the moon, looking for light that only the sun provides. Everyone has his or her own pains that show their weaknesses and the darkness in them. But when they do find that light that can change them and set them free, they become just like the bright full moon out here…a light for others to follow. It was the same for me. It was the same for Gaara. And it was the same for Hinata. We all looked for light. When I found that spark, she got that spark too from me. Just like everyone who I've met and protected. Even Sasuke got that light. But it's our choice from then on what to do with that light. We can either reject it like Sasuke did, or let it change us and light us up the way Gaara did…and the way Hinata did as well."

The fox then looked into the bright pale light that the moon shone on the whole face of Sereitei. He then asked once more of his master with full understanding and maturity.

**Gaki…you've grown so much for a moon. Your just like this moon here. Though it can only reflect light, yet its reflection is almost as bright as the sun. Ev****en the stars are twinkling like firelies in comparison to the light of the moon.**

The young blonde just blushed and scratched his head as he bashfully replied,

"I can only be this bright because of everyone's help."

The fox then replied,

**I don't think so. They were there to help, but like you said, you have to make the choice. All that will and determination over the past eighteen years hasn't burned out. In fact I think it's grown stronger. Kami has something big planned for you gaki. I can feel it in every tail I got. As the moonlight of this world, you will shine brighter than the stars. Not because you're** **special, but because of the power of your soul.**

Both master and servant looked once again at the brilliant light of the moon. It was beautiful as it's almost heavenly light shone down upon the face of the entire Soul Society. Brilliant was its light, that if it weren't so, Naruto and kyuubi would have noticed the man standing in its light smiling upon the two before vanishing like a mirage.

Kyuubi was right however. Despite Naruto's friends and now family there to support him all the way, He was the light that gave them hope. It was through him…and the power of the soul.

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This…was…the…longest…chapter…I've…done. But I hope you enjoy this one. I had a really hard time doing this. As you can see, a lot was revealed. Not everything, but enough to clear up the story further. Like I said, I'm not rushing things. But if you read the last part carefully, you would have noticed the misterious man. He's a special character that I'll introduce only once, but he will have a significant role in the story. It is still NaruHina, and a Naruto/Bleach Crossover. So despite his special appearance, it won't warp the storyline to a drastic degree. Just think of more wood for the fire. Even if it's only a twig in size.

Thank you for reading another exciting chapter in Naruto:Death's Second Chance.

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**Kinkoudo number one, gochutekkan ****fūin(Balanced path number one,****Quintet of 1 ****kan**** Iron Pillars Sealing)**- Summons five incredibly tall and thick pillars to pin a target to the ground. When the target is pinned, the pillars dissolve into seal form and seal the weight upon the arms, legs and chest area.


	9. Burning Desire

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuiubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: This will be the last chapter where Naruto will be in Soul Society. His return to Konoha is imminent. Expect sudden changes and a new hope. Thank you all for the reviews.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_  


**Chapter 9**

_**Burning Desire**_

With the dawn of a new day…

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A month had passed adding to Naruto's three year lifetime in Soul Society…

Dawn flowed over the scene as Sereitei began a new day with the rising of the orange sun.

Like clockwork, Naruto's flaming azure eyes opened up once more as he got out of bed to start his new day. This time however, he was preparing himself for war. Aside from the academy hakama he was already wearing, he had several kunai pouches strapped to both legs and a utility belt around his waist with several scroll dangling from it. Even his upper arms were strapped with kunai pouches and scrolls.

A battle ready shinobi-shinigami was he. For what reason was this determined blonde so geared up? Why it was the day of reckoning that would determine his fate in Soul Society…It was finally the day of his final exam.

Many hours and years were spent preparing for this day as the young blonde put on his hitai-ate over his forehead lifting his long blonde locks of hair. Though his body didn't age, his hair grew noting that he had been in Soul Society for quite a while now. Though his hair was still as spiky, it had become a little tamer as his hair had grown in length. As he wrapped his long, blonde locks in the back in a low, tight ponytail with black cloth, he began to speak to his nine-tailed companion already at the door waiting.

"Looks like its time kyuubi. Lets raise hell!"

the firey kitsune just shook his head as he said,

**Already fired up so early in the morning. You better wash up first before you fall asleep there.**** I've already seen your proctor and it seems you have a special test involved away from the others.**

Kyuubi said as his master had finished tying up his hair. Naruto walked out the door with kyuubi in his zanpaktou mode strapped to his back with red and black cloth.

Naruto then marched his way downstairs to the dining room expecting his friends and family waiting by the dining table only to find an empty room and several stacks of bowls and empty plates along with greasy chopsticks and wet spoons to match.

'_Geez…they left without__ me! No matter, time to head out!'_

The young blonde thought as he inspected the mess hall that was the dining room.

It wasn't long before morning arrived to greet the blonde as its glowing orange light complimented his long blonde locks of hair that swept in the breeze while he speedily **shunpo'd** his way to the training grounds were they awaited him.

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Many young adolescents nervously awaited in an open air room not too far away from the main crowd that stood upon balconies and rooftops to get a good view of those who would graduate this year's exams. Families stood over at the sides watching the graduating batch as they cheered on hoping their sons, daughters, friends, relatives and significant others would enter the division of their choosing.

Some of those who eagerly awaited the graduating students were the Gotei thirteen captains themselves as they gazed upon the several platoons of shinigami hopefuls alongside their commander in chief, Yamamoto- Genryusai who sat in a throne not so far above theirs.

The captains were amused by the sheer number of graduates this year as there were many talented students taking the dreadful exam this time around. One of which, who in fact was the maverick of the batch, was what the captains themselves were awaiting to witness this opportunity of a lifetime.

Feeling enthusiasm flow through his veins from excitement, the tallest one of the captains then spoke to his blonde haired comrade on his left.

"Minato, I hope your son passes the test. I heard he's up against quite the odds."

The golden eyed kobold said to the smiling blonde.

Minato then nodded as he responded to his brown furry friend with assured confidence.

"Don't worry Komamura-san. He will. I have faith in him. I've trained him to the best of my abilities. He should do just fine."

While the eleven of the Gotei thirteen captains were busy conversing through the long and dragging procession of the graduation of the shinigami hopefuls, a firey red headed lieutenant was pacing back and forth beside Sarutobi, Hinamori and three others beside them at the edge of the seats.

The sickly man in that group coughed and then worriedly asked the pacing red head.

"What's wrong Kushina? You shouldn't be so tense after being promoted as my fukutaicho just take a deep breath and relax."

The sickly man said as he gestured his hands for her to relax. He wore the shihakushō as any captain did except for the insignia of the thirteenth division behind the haori. Despite his age, He had long, flowing white hair, gray eyebrows and matching color of eyes.

He was not the only one however who thought she was tense. The other two ran in front of the man and the sandy haired one shouted,

"You should listen to Uikitake taicho!"

The black haired man then comically shoved her aside and said,

"Don't listen to Kiyone! Ukitake taicho is right!"

The sandy haired woman then punched his face to the ground and began shouting at his fallen form.

"You just said what I said Sentarō and told her not to listen to me?! What kind of corny copycat advice is that?"

while the two were bickering and fighting each other in a cloud of smoke, Ukitake could only sweatdrop at their antics. The fiery red head however had several veins throbbing of the stress they put her under.

In a flash, the two ended their bickering as both were beaten to a pulp while being gagged and tied up by the angry Kushina as she screamed at them,

"Kuso! I'm panicking because my son is late and you're not helping me you know! Just sit still like the Bakas you are and stop whining or else I'll feed you to the eleventh division dogs!"

the firey red head then began to shouting several more profanities while stepping on their hog-tied forms as they cried anime tears and whimpered like puppies while apologising.

The rest of the Gotei thirteen in their seats noticed her antics and sweatdropped. Even Kenpachi felt slightly nervous at the rage the woman showed towards her suboordinates. If the eleventh division captain felt nervousness from her, how much more the other captains around her? She was a scary person to anger. Many took note of this and slid one seat away from her in fright.

After several hours of grueling procession, the time had come for Naruto's appearance at the battle grounds below for his graduation exam. Many people had opted to stay in order to watch the special graduation ceremony for the blonde genius. All have heard of his remarkable performance for the past three years as every teacher stood by the wooden gate awaiting the blonde genius' entrance.

While all were agitated by his lateness, Shūhei Hisagi, the fukutaicho of the ninth division, waited at the center as the referee of the final exam of Naruto. The man had black hair, and a sleeveless version of the hakama to reveal the tatoos on his arms and an obscene number on his left cheek along with his zanpaktou on that side of his body.

It wouldn't be long before he had to declare a forfeit. The young blonde had only ten seconds before he failed the exam of a lifetime.

Kuchiki Byakuya knew how much time the blonde had left and smirked as he said to his fellow companions,

"He only has ten seconds left. I think it's safe to say that…"

before he could continue his pessimistic sentence of defeat, a man seated next to captain Ukitake Jūshirō in a straw hat and a pink flowered haori over his captain's uniform, interrupted him by saying,

"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. You said it yourself, he's got ten seconds left."

He finished his sentence when he took a bottle of sake next to him and drank it.

Minato and Kushina could only tense up as they wondered where he was at his most important day. It was not like him to be this late. Even Sarutobi knew that he had come a long way from his days at the Chunin exams. Everyone just tensed up as the air grew thick with impatience and people were getting edgy. And to top it all off, Shūhei began the countdown.

"Ten!"

The countdown had begun. Minato then thought to himself,

'_Son, I've trained you hard for this day. Please get here on time.'_

"Nine!"

The air grew thicker as people begun to riot. Sarutobi began to wonder where Naruto was as he thought,

'_Naruto, you better have a good reason to delay yourself for this long. You've had more than enough time to train. Please get here before the crowds get unruly.'_

"Eight!"

The air was dense with several killing intents by the onlooking audience as Ikkaku and Yumichika attempted to hold the crowd that was slowly becoming an angry mob.

"Seven!"

As profanities filled the air because of the long wait that the people had to endure, even Kenpachi left his seat and tried to calm down the crowd without resorting to killing seeing as it would be 'less than a buzz kill'.

"Six!"

"Five!"

The counts made the people more agitated as almost all the fukutaicho's of the Gotei thirteen except Hinamori and Kushina who were still on their benches with the captains.

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

Kushina couldn't take it anymore as she shouted at the top of her lungs,

"NARUTO! GET YOUR LAZY ASS HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT OR NO RAMEN FOR A YEAR!!!"

And just like paper covers rock, a shadow partially covered the battleground as a tall blonde figure was standing in the highest point of the flagpole of one of the nearby buildings were the sun shined on it back leaving his shadowy imprint on the floor below.

The tall figure then screamed back,

"OKAA-SAN! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE THAT HARSH TO GET ME HERE!"

The sotaicho just smirked at the flashy entrance the blonde made.

Minato, Sarutobi and Kushina just sighed in relief as the young blonde vanished from his place onto the ground behind Shūhei in the crouched position.

As the young blonde slowly got up, the sun shone on his features revealing his long blonde locks of hair and the shine on his hitai-ate as the Konoha symbol was proudly engraved on it. His full battle ready form astounded the now silent crowd as they felt the air of serenity and authority emanate from the blonde as his flaming azure eyes burned brightly.

He then faced the crowd and said,

"Sorry for coming so late! Namikaze Naruto is here for examination!"

Without hesitation, Yamamoto-Genryūsai stood up from his seat for all to see his battle scarred, bald head as the sun shone down on his brow. He then raised his hand and said,

"We've waited long enough! Let the examination of Namikaze Naruto begin!"

The crowd then sat in silence as they sat on the edge of their seats. It was time for the awaited hour.

Shūhei then moved to the side and explained the rules.

"In order for graduate number 1785, Namikaze Naruto, to graduate from the academy, he must take the captain's proficiency test for graduation.

There are three different ways to become a Gotei 13 captain:

1. He must perform bankai in which at least three existing captains, including the sotaicho, have to witness the test.

2. He must have personal recommendations from at least six captains and approval from at least three of the remaining seven.

3. He must defeat a captain one-on-one with at least 200 witnesses from the captain's division.

But due to certain circumstances, he will have to perform all three as part of the examination."

The crowd began to murmur to one another as they all awed at how many trials the blonde had to go through. But Naruto did not flinch. He knew that his father and Sarutobi went through the same process in order to achive their rank. Though it was not as grand as the young blonde had to go through, it was similar in a way to his.

While the crowd was busy gossiping about the blonde's odds, Shūhei then continued his speech.

"Will the proctor please step forward to begin the examination of the graduate."

Everyone looked in wide eyed amazement as they saw the proctor enter the arena from the wooden gates opposite to Naruto. The young blonde was speechless when he saw the proctor stood just meters away from him after exiting the wooden gate. Naruto then shouted,

"You're the proctor…Shiro-chan?"

He said to the white haired teen in front of him. The white haired teen then gazed his emerald eyes into the flaming azure ones of the young blonde. Wasting no time for chatting, Toushiro then said,

"I will be your proctor for this test Naruto. If you can accomplish all three requirements by the end of the match, then you have passed the test and will become of captain level. Anything else you'd like to say before we begin?"

The white haired teen said as he pointed his sword at the smiling blonde. Naruto then chuckled which caught Toushiro's attention as the white haired teen raised an eybrow. The young blonde then finished chuckling and said as he put on a foxy grin.

"Let's make it interesting with a bet. If I win, Not only will I get to become of captain status, but you have to take Momo-chan out after."

Toushiro had a slight blush on his face as did Hinamori. Sarutobi chuckled lightly while the sotaicho made a weak smile. After that brief bashful interlude, Toushiro then said,

"Like you stand a chance agianst me. After what you just said, I'm not holding back."

The young blonde then grinned even wider while steeping himself in a battou stance as he held with his right hand, the hilt and the end of the sheath with his left.

The killing intents ran amok as they challenged each other with the sheer might of their reiatsu. Most of the crowd suffocated with the intensity of the roar that the two beasts gave at each other. Intimidation had no room for these two as the stare down began to fade. When Shūhei regained his composure he then raised his right hand to the sky and said the one word that would begin the battle of a century.

"Hajime!"

Like lightning, they both charged at each other as Toushiro's ice, cold steel met the blazing, hot one of the blonde.

While the crowd awed at the deadlock taking place, Kenpachi smiled the widest smile he could and gladly said,

"So it's begun? Let's see what you got gaki!"

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Naruto's Fight

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The deadlock begun to take effect upon the area surrounding the two teens as steam errupted from the colliding area of the two steels. Naruto slid his sword to his right to shift the balance of power to his favor, all to no avail, as Toushiro did the same move in the opposite direction.

Toushiro began inching his way to Naruto's right while still keeping the pressure. Naruto did the same in the opposite direction as well effectively cancelling the possible counterattack. Naruto then quickly slid his blade downward and quickly shifted to his left side in order to make a side slash only for Toushiro to sidestep to Naruto's left side guarding the attack with the blade point upside down in a high reverse guard.

Toushiro then pushed his blade in a crecent form to his left side effectively parrying Naruto's blade. While still in momentum, he then moved to Naruto's open right and attempted to make a side slash only for Naruto to copy his movement and perform the same counter. Lucky for Toushiro, the wound wasn't deep as he **shunpo'd** out just in time behind the blonde to give a thrust to the back.

Naruto made a backflip, avoiding the attack, and while in mid-air, pulled a three-pronged kunai with his left hand and gracefully spun his body around to land on top of Toushiro's steel in a feat of agility. Wasting no time, he threw the kunai to Toushiro's left shoulder. It hit dead on as blood trickled from the wound while Naruto leaped forward from his position attempting to decapitate Toushiro's head with a powerful side slash. Toushiro crouched and dashed forward to gain some distance.

When both landed safely on the floor, they quickly spun around and dashed towards each other and once again assaulted as they danced around each other's blade.

As steel met steel, and the clangs of metal rung in the air, the crowd began to yell in excitement. Betting could be heard in the sound mixed background while the entire tenth division stared in awe from their seats at the display of flawless skill that the young blonde and their captain presented at their leasure.

Many shouts were heard from the background as cheering erupted from both, Naruto's supporters and the tenth division rooting for their captain. When they were caught in a deadlock once more, Naruto then brought up his left hand from the grip and made one handed seals. Toshiro, who had first hand experience with Naruto's arcane techniques, **shunpo'd **out of the way as Naruto pointed his index and middle fingers towards Toshiro and then said,

"**Hado number four, byakurai!"**

Immediately, Naruto released the bolt of lightning. Toushiro **shunpo'd** out of the way once more, only for the lightning to dissapear in a spatial distortion and struck the kunai on Toshiro's left shoulder as if it was a lightning rod. The electricity dispersered throughout Toshiro's body leaving the white haired teen panting from the sudden pain.

The crowd was shocked to the bone like Toshiro was except in amazement at how the young blonde was capable of performing such a feat. Sarutobi was one of those as he asked Minato where he learned such a feat.

Minato then replied as he kept his gaze on the battlefield.

"He used the **Hiraishin no Jutsu **I taught him and then used the special kunai as a lightning rod for the kido spell to home on to."

The ubelieving Sarutobi then said,

"But I thought you can't use jutsu and kido at the same time because of chakra and reiatsu?"

Minato then replied,

"True. Not together in a fusion type techinque that is. But that dosen't mean you can't use them consecutively. He used **Hiraishin** first when you saw him finish the one handed seals before he postioned his fingers for its release. He then let loose the **Hiraishin** first and with perfect timing, used the kido attack to pass through the warp in time and space. If he hadn't perfected his chakra and reiatsu control, none of those combo's would be possible."

Komamura, who was hearing Minato's response the whole time then said,

"But to get the exact timing of both techniques so it would move in one fluid motion must have taken years of practice. You've trained your son well Minato."

Minato shook his head and said,

"No. I gave him the information. He did the training with or without help. His will and determination was the most important forces necessary for him to achive such feats of combat."

While the Gotei thirteen captains were still in shock at this turn of events, the shock on Toshiro's body was slowly fading away as he removed the kunai stuck on his left shoulder and attempted to get up, not noticing the incantation of Naruto. It was too late to decipher what he had chanted as he pointed his left hand once again at the white haired teen and said,

"**Hado number thirty-three, ****Sōkatsui!"**

Toshiro then jumped up and landed on an invisible flooring in the sky avoiding the flash of blue energy that burned a crater on the ring. Seeing no options left, Toshiro then said,

"**Sit upon the frosted heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"**

After his command, his zanpaktou gained a crescent-shaped blade attached to the hilt by a chain. He then swung the steel in an arc releasing the ice dragon that slept in the sword, towards the young blonde.

"Shit!"

The young blonde cried as he kept dodging the attacks sent at him that froze the ground it attacked in a wild icicle formation. When he dodged an attack from behind him, Toshiro had already, appeared in front of him attempting to make a diagonal slash to the left. Which Naruto instinctively blocked with his sword.

As the deadlock commenced, Toshiro then said,

"You haven't released your zanpaktou yet. You'd best do so if you want to win."

Naruto then made his foxy grin and said,

"Actually, I was waiting for this to happen so I could do so."

Toshiro's eybrows rose as Naruto slid his left hand out of his two handed grip and touched the back of the center of his blade with his two fingers as he said,

"**I release your seal...Kaseikitsune!****"**

Naruto's zanpaktou then glowed red before the crimson light receded revealing the new form of the steel.

The zanpaktou's guard was a nine-pointed, curved gold star. It's hilt is wrapped in black and red cloth. The butt of the hilt is shaped like a fox's head in silver and the blade is a normal sized katana blade except the blade has serrated teeth to allow cutting with ease. all in all, the sword from hilt to tip, stands four feet, two inches.

The onlooking crowd looked in amazement as they sat at the edge of their seats. The power of the sword could be felt from the entire room as its reiatsu reeked of malice.

Toshiro hardened his gaze until he recognized the crackling energy erupting from the blade. He then leaped back and swung his sword. The white haired teen's ice dragon colided with the blonde's **byakurai** as Naruto swung his simultaneously.

Both attacks exploded with such force that the icicles scattered around the arena began to crash and melt into water as the bleating sun burned the remains. Toshiro smirked as he gathered the water into a huge ice dragon and sent it at the young blonde. Naruto smirked as well as he put up his sword in a defensive position.

Toshiro then thought to himself,

'_He's not seriously going to defend against that?_'

The young blonde stood firm and absorbed the cold blow of the ice dragon. However the dragon didn't damage the blonde. Instead, it entered the sword. Toshiro was panicked when he saw this sudden turn of events.

"He absorbed the attack into his sword!"

Kiyone and Sentaro simultaneiously shouted.

Naruto then **shunpo'd **into the air behind Toshiro and swung the sword down, releasing the imprisoned ice dragon at Toshiro. The white haired teen stood no chance and was hit directly as a smoke of ice and vapor emerged from the arena. Naruto then landed back on the ground and said,

"Kaseikitsune's ability is quick release of kido and elemental attacks without the restrictions of incantations or the damage restriction penalty. It's other ability is to deflect or redirect kido or elemental attacks. I just needed you to launch your strongest attack at me so I could redirect it back at you."

The smiling blonde's words were cut short as the smoke began to clear revealing an unharmed Toshiro in his bankai form.

Toshiro now had ice over his right hand in a dragon's head, and ice on his feet and other hand. Ice wings and tail were frozen on his back along with three purple, four petal ice flowers hovering near his head.

The smile on the blonde's face was wiped clean as Toshiro stepped out of the smoke and said,

"Impressive shikai form. But your forgetting about bankai—a captain's level of power."

Although Naruto's shikai form was impressive and could equal Toshiro's bankai form with enough experience and practice, he knew that it had it's limits. Toshiro had the upper hand on the battle scarred Naruto at this point. If the young blonde wanted to win and graduate at captain's level, he needed to achieve bankai.

Ukitake watched in earnest, the carnage below as Naruto swung his sword left and right, releasing several kido attacks at the flying ice angel. However, the young blonde was heavily fatigued by the constant use of kido attacks, an obvious flaw to his zanpaktou's strength. His mastery of his weapon was exceptional, but his strength had its limits.

Ukitake then asked his fukutaicho,

"Has Naruto achieved bankai yet Kushina?"

The sickly man could see the immense stress the young blonde was under. Kushina then politely but sadly replied,

"I'm afraid not. There was too little time for him to achieve bankai. We trained him with all we knew about the shinigami arts and shinobi arts as well. He himself had to fill the missing gaps. Bankai takes hundreds of years for a normal shinigami to perform. Minato had fifteen years to achieve it and even then had barely made it. Sarutobi was no different as he had only three and still couldn't make it. If it were not only for the recommendations and the special circumstances of the defections, Sarutobi wouldn't be a captain."

Ukitake then bowed his head in defeat as he looked upon the struggling blonde. He then somberly asked,

"Do you think he could make it to bankai now?"

Minato then confidently said,

"Don't, worry Ukitake taicho. He'll make it. I believe in him. You should as well. He has abilities and a potential that not many have. With determination and a strong will, he'll make it. Trust me on this."

Kushina and Sarutobi nodded at this statement as they all looked upon the young blonde.

Naruto wasn't able to keep things up for long as Toshiro managed to freeze his entire body with one shot from his ice dragon. Though Naruto was potentially stronger than Toshiro, he was nowhere near the white haired teen's level of experience.

Seeing the young blonde's frozen state, Toshiro said to the only unfrozen part of his advesaries body, his face.

"Naruto, You're about to fail the exam. Is this the extent of your hard work? You need to work harder than this. I haven't overestimated you, neither have I underestimated you. If you don't achive bankai in the next second, you will lose."

Toshiro then raised his arms for the final attack. He then let loose the ice dragon on the frozen young blonde. The crowd held their breath at the final moments of Naruto's examination.

Naruto was struggling. Even his thoughts clearly showed his struggle as he thought to himself,

'_Focus Naruto! Focus! You're not done yet.__ We need to achieve bankai. Just focus as hard as you can to locate the source like otou-san said…'_

Naruto then closed his eyes, and completely ignored the incoming attack of Toshiro. Within a heartbeat, Naruto was in the landscape of his mind.

As Naruto opened his eyes, he saw the cage and sewer-like area he was in. He had been here on so many occasions. Usually when he was here, he, needed energy from the kyuubi to fight off an impossible enemy. But this time, he needed a different kind of power. He needed the power of his zanpaktou.

Naruto then entered the cage and walked forward into a deep darkness. He knew that once kyuubi was in his zanpaktou mode, he couldn't be in this cage. It was rather silent than usual because of the lonely aura that painted the room.

As the young blonde walked through never ending void, he noticed several sparkles that begun to brighten the room. They were stars. Soon a whole universe encompassed the sky. It was beautiful as the shining gems of space created a canvas of glamour among the blackened background.

However, the young blonde could not afford to waste time. He journeyed onward until he reached a human size, ivory balancing scale. On one end of the scale was a ball of fire. On the other where it weighed the most, was a pale gray sphere. In the middle of the scale was an orb that was in the color black with the kanji for man written in white on it. On the foundation of the scale, was an inscription that said,

The mellow moon cannot ignite because it has no bright sun. The bright sun cannot liquify because it has no mellow moon. In order for the flesh of man to merge with the spirit of beast, The man must give up its softness for the beasts hardness. In order for the bright sun to shine brighter, it must change in color. In order for the mellow moon to gain color, it must shine like the bright sun. When four harmonies are together, then true power is awakened.

Naruto thought hard for what seemed like hours. After much headaches and several cursed profanities, the young blonde then screamed,

"AHHHHH! WHAT IN KAMI'S NAME DOES IT TAKE TO RELEASE A STUPID BANKAI!"

The blonde then kicked the scales in frustration. The scales then begun to swing until it stopped back in its original postion.

"That's it!"

Naruto shouted as he realized what it took to gain what he needed. He then continued his sentence as he said to himself,

"The whole riddle is about balance within imbalance. It means that man is the scale balance where the scales are originally set for the moon to weigh the heaviest. If I want to achieve bankai, I must balance it over to the fire side in order for me to achieve a stable merging of man and beast allowing the sun to give color to the moon and vice versa."

The young blonde then unlocked the screw on the moon side of the balance. Immediately, the moon side of the scale swung and folded up with the sun side of the scale. When the two spheres touched each other, the moon became yellowish red and the sun became white.

What seemed like an eternity there, was only miliseconds in the real world as Naruto awakened with flaming cyan eyes. Naruto then quickly shouted,

"BANKAI!"

The ice suddenly melted as Toshiro's attack connected leaving a cloud of vapor. This shocked all the spectators and the young blonde's opponent.

"So it's over just like that. Naruto…I guess you weren't ready yet. This test was insane from the beginning to end. Looks like you'll have to wait another three more years."

The white haired teen said as he closed his eyes in dissapointment.

But then, a familiar cry echoed in front of Toshiro.

"I don't think so Shiro-chan!"

Toshiro's head had veins throbbing all over at the sound of that nickname. When the angry white haired teen opened his eyes to look at what kind of person would give such a remark, he was speechless as he saw the figure in front of him.

As the smoke faded, Naruto appeared in his red fox cloak. His sleeves were shredded revealing eight tatoos of the numbers one to four on his right arm, and the numbers five to eight. The kanji for number one tatooed on his right arm was now glowing redder than the fox cloak as his eyes were now a slitted crimson one and his claws and fangs had grown while his sword was nowhere to be seen.

The crowd was frightened beyond belief at the monstrous sight before them. They thought that Komamura was inhuman, but they were never prepared for this. Not even Naruto's family and friends were prepared for this sudden surge of monstrosity. The very floor that Naruto stood on was melting from the fox cloak's oozing energy while Naruto remained unharmed.

Before Toshiro could react, Naruto had appeared behind him.

'_I didn't see him move! So fast!'_

The white haired teen thought as his angelic form of ice suddenly collapsed and evanesenced, leaving a falling Toshiro. Naruto then caught the white haired teen as he fell unconscious in his arms.

"Whoops! Can't fall there, that's solid ground. Besides…after you wake up, you're going to pay your end of the bet eh Shiro-chan?"

The young blonde said as his fox cloak dissapeared back into his body.

Kushina was the first to react and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"HE DID IT! MY SON DID IT!"

Several joyous screams were heard ringing in the atmosphere as even Kenpachi and Yachiru were laughing their hearts out. Minato then jumped to his wife's side as he joined in the celebration. Komamura and Sarutobi just smirked at the grinning, young blonde while the rest of the shinigami captains clapped at the grand performance.

Shūhei managed to climb out of the rubble and was about to declare the winner until he saw that there was no need anymore.

'_Looks like we have another powerhouse in the Gotei thirteen. Naruto, you're one heck of a guy to pull this off. Things will get int__eresting with you around.'_

The burdened fukutaicho said as he dusted himself off from the rubble.

----------o)0(o----------

After several minutes of cleanup of the arena, the sotaicho and all twelve captains, were assembled at the arena. With a brow full of confidence and a weak smile upon the battle scarred face of the sotaicho, he spoke to the kneeling young blonde.

"As the current commander of the Gotei thirteen, I am here to announce the promotion of a new captain of the ninth division. All those in favor of Namikaze Naruto for captain of the ninth division, kneel before him and me."

Without hesitation, all captains kneeled in accordance with the procession. The sotaicho then smirked a smirk of joy as he then said,

"There is a unanimous decision. Namikaze Naruto, you are herby promoted to ninth division captain upon graduation. Wear your haori proudly."

The young blonde then stood up from his kneeling position as he dawned a sleeveless shihakushō with his zanpaktou strapped to his back and a sleeveless haori over it with the insignia of the ninth division on its back and several kunai holsters strapped to his legs and the leg openings wrapped with black cloth at the ends to prevent unecessary looseness that can hinder movement and tabi boots.

Naruto, with his flaming azure eyes burning brightly, then said,

"I'll be the best captain I can be sotaicho!"

And with that, Naruto graduated the top of his class and attained the rank of captain. Life here in death was better for the blonde than it was in life.

After the graduation exam, Toshiro payed his end of the bet and took Hinamori out as promised. Both were glad and had a splendid time together thanks to the arrangements made by Naruto. In fact, it wasn't long before he managed to hook up his two friends. The two became inseperable after they got engaged.

Many weeks passed and Naruto successfully ran the ninth division to its fullest capacity. His strength and leadership echoed through the ranks. He was an icon among his peers and had become the only well favored captain by the sotaicho himself. Thought at times he went awall due to some messes within the rebuilding government of Soul Society, he was easily pardoned as he had valid reasons for doing so.

Naruto had made a tremendous impact on Soul Society. Even the eleventh division had changed their view of kido based shinigamis due to Naruto 's strength and the strength of his division as a whole.

Times were good until Aizen once again made his move to usher in his final plot out of desperation. The entire Gotei thirteen was stationed at Karakura town as a massive battle took place. Thanks to the combined efforts of Ichigo's team and the ninth, fifth, and third division's advanced guard, Aizen's massive tide of troops slowly became shallow enough for a last attack by the Gotei thirteen.

While the battle in Karakura town raged onward, a blue haired lieutenant came rushing in the office of the sotaicho. When the panting man kneeled down in front of the wise old warrior, he then said,

"Sotaicho! We found Aizen and his remaining Espada along with former taicho Gin Ichimaru and Tousen Kaname at his side."

The wise old warrior had a hardened gaze as he looked in the panting man's eyes. He then asked him,

"Where is Naruto at now?"

The panting man then replied,

"Sir he is currently headed there as we speak to personally join the battle."

As the two men in that office talked about the current battle situation, the young blonde shinigami-shinobi was running through the tunnel leading to the real world.

"Man I should have been there earlier. At this rate casualties will rise faster. I need to get there faster!"

Naruto said to himself as he ran as fast as he could. Kyuubi couldn't help himself except rant at the blonde when he told him,

**I hate to tell I told you so, but I did gaki. So quit complianing if you want to get there faster.**

"I get it already damn fox! If you just pipe down for a minute, I can sprint us there faster!"

The young blonde said to his zanpaktou strapped behind him. When the kyuubi had calmed down, Naruto began to concentrate chakra on his feet as he felt more chakra empowering him as he got close towards the exit of the tunnel. In matter of seconds he was gliding through the tunnel as the wind underneath his feet pushed him forward. He was literaly skating without weels.

The amused kyuubi then spoke.

**Using your wind element so soon?**

The young blonde then smirked as he said,

"If I can get there sooner, then I can prevent more disasters from happening. The faster I get there, the less heartaches I can prevent, and the more families I can spare."

He finished his sentence with a sad expression on his face as his flaming azure eyes shone like a flashlight in the darkness of that tunnel. The young blonde's servant could feel the pain of the young blonde as Naruto could remember how Sarutobi had died that day just a week ago.

_Flashback_

_It was a bloody mayhem as Ichigo struck his sword on the final Espada aside from Ulquiorra. Exhausted and beaten, the Hollows managed to retreat from the heavy losses they received while many dead shinigami lay by the riverside._

_Among the few survivors of the onslaught, one was mortally wounded. Without aid from Inoue or at the very least, a squad of the fourth dvision, the old man was very close to a second death. His fukutaicho was all that remained with the least amount of wounds. However, her heart was pained with another death of her taicho. The first time FELT real. But this time, it will be and she gets to see it first hand as the man lay in her arms while she flooded his bloody hakama._

_Ichigo saw the two still breathing and ran over to them. When he reached the two wounded soldiers, he then said reassuringly,_

"_Don't worry Sarutobi jiji. We'll get you to a medic soon. You too Hinamori-san. We'll get that broken arm of yours fixed up. I can only do some temporary first aid, but it should help the two of you."_

_Sarutobi, who was already having difficulties from his wounds then shook his head and said,_

"_Save your bandages for Hinamori. She has a family to raise after she gets married. I on the other hand need to pass on to the living world. Don't cry Hinamori. Be strong. You stood up to that Arrancar with such bravery and chivalry. You have the makings for a shinigami captain. I pass on the responsibility to you. Lead them well into a brighter future."_

_Hinamori who was sobbing protested._

"_But…I can't do things on my own…I'm not the strongest or cool headed person in the entire division. I don't even know how an insane person like me became a fukutaicho in the first place. Please don't leave us now!"_

_The sobbing girl said as she cried her heart out. Sarutobi, with the last of his strength, held her hand in a tight grip. The teary eyed young lady looked at the dying man with concern. She knew that time did not permit him anymore to linger as a soul. With his final moments of life left, Sarutobi smiled as he said,_

"_You're a good, and strong girl Hinamori. Have more faith in yourself just like your fiance does for you. It was worth protecting you and my men for me…so…it should…be…worth…protecting…the…rest…of the…"_

_He couldn't finish his last words. He had already passed on to the next life. Ichigo then put his hand on Hinamori's shoulder and said,_

"_Could you finish what he said for you?"_

_The sobbing girl then wiped her tears and looked at the dead man in her lap with a smile on his face. She then closed his empty eyes and said,_

"_It should be worth protecting the rest of division for you."_

_Hinamori said as she laid his arms over his chest and took up the bloody haori and wore it proudly in memory of her taicho._

_End of Flashback_

Kyuubi could feel the pain that the blonde had gone through. But a feeling of assurance and confidence kept washing it away little by little.

As the young blonde skated forward, he then threw a three pronged kunai towards the exit of the tunnel. When he felt the kunai pass through he then made a final push with the wind that sent him straight to the exit. He then performed the seals necessary for **Hiraishin** and was about to enter the warp as his thoughts and memories replayed in his head.

'_The reason why I'm here is because I want to save my precious people and the precious people of those people. I want to help them and protect them in any way possible. I will not let anything happen like in my old life. I have a new __life now and I will make sure that my future and the future of Konoha eventually, become better and brighter than before. The future that Hinata and I should have had…'_

The young blonde thought to himself as his eyes ignited into cyan ones and he warped through the tunnel.

Without notice or introduction, while Naruto and Kyuubi were travelling in the warping zone, a voice spoke to Naruto.

"Why don't you make it so you can have it with her?"

The young blonde was shocked to say the least. But he immediately shrugged it off as he shouted to his zanpaktou.

"Oi! Kyuubi! What the hell you talking about?"

The agitated Kyuubi then said,

**Naruto…**

The young blonde was shocked once again as the Kyuubi never called him by his first name. Something was obviously up and it was very serious. He then listened with intent as his faithful sword spoke once more.

**That voice…it wasn't me.**

Before Naruto could react to the kitsune's words, the soft but heartfelt voice once again spoke.

"Do you love her? Do you want her back so badly that you would pay any price to have her because she was and still is that precious to you?"

The voice's words struck hard and deep at the depths of Naruto's burning heart. Naruto wanted to know who it was that was speaking to him from this technicolored tunnel. But his desire was too strong for him to deny as he instanly replied to the heartfelt voice with all his might.

"YES! I LOVE HER MORE THAN LIFE OR DEATH! SHE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON TO ME EVEN IF I ONLY GOT TO TRULY KNOW HER THAT DAY SHE DIED. I WOULD DO ANYTHING TO HAVE HER BACK. IF I HAVE TO BEG AT KAMI'S FEET TO DO SO, OR DIVE THE DEPTHS OF HELL TO FIND HER I WILL! BECAUSE….BECAUSE….BECAUSE I LOVE HER THAT MUCH!"

After the young blonde screamed what has been aching in his heart for so long now, he and Kyuubi finally made it out the tunnel.

A blinding white light then flashed both their eyes for a moment before it faded away and they could see were they were.

They were falling into an enormous hall. Kyuubi had somehow reverted back to his wolf sized form as they both collapsed on the marble floor. Thought they, fell on solid ground, they were unhurt.

"My head…which dimension are we in this time Kyuubi?"

Asked the young blonde to his slightly groggy companion. When the firey kitsune had regained his composure, sweat began pouring out of his body as he looked around in nervousness. He then muttered,

**Ka…K-K-Ka…this is…**

"My place!"

Said a man in majestic blue and white robes as he approached them with a beautiful yet mysteriously charming smile.

He had long flowing black hair and the same flaming azure eyes as Naruto. His face and eyes were genderless as his robes naturally fit his perfect physique. Aside from the beautiful robes of unusually beautiful design, he wore no footwear and was happily skipping like a child towards them.

While Kyuubi was lying down prone in fear of this person, Naruto was blushing at the genderless beauty this person had.

'_Who is this guy? Is he even a he? Somehow he dosen't feel like a guy or a girl. He's not gay or she's not gay that's for sure. It's just that, there's something about this person without gender. There's this air of mystery surrounding him and an aura of…holiness coming from this person.'_

The young blonde thought as he began to rise up into a kneeling position just in time for the unkown person to stand in front of them. The arcane human then spoke to them,

"It's been quite some time since I last saw you two at Sereitei when you were gazing at the moonlight. You said that you were willing to do anything it takes right?"

The young blonde just naturally nodded. When the arcane human saw his acknowledgement, he then said,

"It's quite amazing what people would do for love. But that's what makes them so interesting. Especially when I come around to aid them in the most mysterious and humanly impossible ways."

Kyuubi could no longer contain himself and said,

**Kami-sama! You would be willing to help my master in this matter?!**

Naruto then looked at the Kyuubi and then looked at the arcane human. After two more looks at them, he then screamed.

"WHAAAT???!!!"

The arcane human could do nothing else but laugh at the jawdropped expression of the young blonde as saucers had filled his eyes.

Naruto's heart was pure and strong. He had a flaming will that burned so brightly that even Kami himself had taken notice. All that determination and firey will had now paid off as his desire was to be fulfilled by the great Kami-sama. If it was any old desire, Kami would have taken notice. But Kami took notice to his in a completely personal way. The reason was because of the young blonde's pure and loving heart with a will unlike any other…The reason was because…of his….burning desire.

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Yes! Naruto gets personal help from Kami himself. Before you wonder if Kami is a guy or a girl, he is neither because he has no gender. An all powerful and peerless etherial being though he chooses a human form… That is my Kami in the story. And if your wondering when Hinata's coming back, read the last conversation between Kami and Kyuubi again. Hehehe.

Anyway, the next chapters will bring our azure-eyed blonde hero into a beautiful twist of events.

Thank you once again for reading this chapter. Till the next update, Ja ne!

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**Kaseikitsune(Fire Born Fox)-** The name of the Shikai form of Naruto's zanpaktou. I clearly explained its strength and weaknesses as well as his new bankai form.


	10. Kami's Command

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: Yes, Hinata's coming back. Thanks for all the reviews once again. This chapter will focus on Naruto, Kyuubi and Kami. I had writer's block so this chapter was delayed. I had planned on releasing this along with chapter nine, but I had no idea how to write this chapter after completing chapter nine. But thankfully, I managed to remember how this chapter was supposed to fit within the story. So enjoy! The next chapter will be another wild twist in the story….well sort of.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_  


**Chapter 10**

_**Kami's Command**_

And a new hope rises at the end of the tunnel…

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The genderless beauty gazed upon the two in endearment as Naruto began to rise up into a kneeling position. From his prone state while the Kyuubi wobbily stood up straight though he was shivering in fright.

With a genuine smile on his face, the arcane human then spoke to them,

"It's been quite some time since I last saw you two at Sereitei when you were gazing at the moonlight. You said that you were willing to do anything it takes right?"

The young blonde just naturally nodded. Naruto knew there was someone watching them that night though he couldn't quite pinpoint who it was. When the arcane human saw his acknowledgement, he then said,

"It's quite amazing what people would do for love. But that's what makes them so interesting. Especially when I come around to aid them in the most mysterious and humanly impossible ways."

Kyuubi could no longer contain himself and said,

**Kami-sama! You would be willing to help my master in this matter?!**

The young blonde was surprised out of his skin by the conversation that went on between the arcane human and Kyuubi. Somehow, his nine tailed friend had known this character and was clearly afraid of him from the nervous breakdown that he showed.

Naruto was very confused at this point. At one moment, he was traveling towards Karakura town at warp speed, the next moment; he ended up here in uncharted territory with a mysterious being no doubt. But as the blonde put two and two together from what he heard the two talking about, he then realized what the arcane human meant through his riddled statement.

The young blonde then reacted to the sudden realization of the situation.

"WHAAAAATTT?!"

The arcane human just laughed as the blonde sat down on the floor he was in with a jaw dropped expression. Obviously, Naruto got the hints rather quickly. The young blonde did not hesitate however to share his sudden enlightenment to the arcane human before him.

"Y-y-y-yo-you-r-you're Kami?!"

Naruto said while still shivering in his seat. Many stories have been said about the great being that rules the universe yet no one, not even the sotaicho had seen Kami. Usually whenever the sotaicho received direct orders from the divine being, it was always a mysterious message that landed upon his desk. Even that in itself was extremely rare and almost coincidental.

Seeing the young blonde's positive reaction to the divine being before him and feeling the appropriate time for an introduction, the arcane being then kneeled down offering his hand to the young blonde as he smiled and said,

"That's me! I am the author and finisher of your fate. Welcome to my realm Naruto Namikaze. You're the first human being to ever have entered my sanctuary."

The arcane human then turned his face towards the nervous kitsune and said,

"And you're the first of your kind as well Kyuubi no Yoko."

The nervous fox then ran behind his master as he whimpered in fear. Naruto was getting more frightened by the minute as the fiery kitsune cowered behind him. If this person could make a monstrous character like Kyuubi cower like a rat, then this person was to be feared and respected lest his wrath fall upon you.

The young blonde nervously grabbed Kami's hand and was pulled up to his two feet. The divine being could see and feel the heavy fear that loomed in their hearts. It was a natural fear. After all, how often do you meet the almighty creator of the universe like this? And even more coincidental, face to face? Rare opportunities like this don't come every once in a lifetime. With this in mind, Kami made his way toward the backing kitsune.

The Kyuubi was horrified that the great and powerful Kami was approaching him. Any being would be scared if they had committed many crimes and were now being approached by the most powerful being in the entire universe to be judged. The frightened fox did know what to do. There was no where to run neither was there any way to be excused from his horrible fate. He could just stand there awaiting his end.

The divine being finally got within arms length of the fox and began to reach out his hand. The fox's heart began to beat even faster as his spine shivered in fright. Naruto had no idea how to deal with this. He knew that the Kyuubi had done some horrible things, but Kami's word and law was absolute.

He could just watch as the divine being surprisingly, held the kitsune's head and then pet the shaking ball of fur as he said,

"It's alright Kyuubi I forgive you."

A concise sentence it was. But it held a lot of love as the Kyuubi felt the tremendous warmth and holiness flow down from Kami's hand and onto the fox's head. A thousand year's worth of sins and shame were pardoned just like that as the Kyuubi fell prone on the floor once more, crying in sorrow and happiness as he felt mortified by the sanctified heart of the divine creator fall upon his own darkened one.

Naruto then sighed in relief. His long time tenant was given forgiveness for all the pain he had caused. But he was still confused as to why he was forgiven. Curiosity soon overcame him as he asked,

"But how come you forgave him so easily? Shouldn't he be sent to hell or some really harsh punishment?"

True enough. The demon lord did not deserve happiness or forgiveness yet it was given to him so easily. The kind hearted Kami with his omniscience then said as he turned to the blonde,

"Even if he had committed so much he needed atonement for, the road to perdition is closed to those who I deem it closed. This is especially true when that person has asked for forgiveness from me in his heart. I am not the harsh ruler that people see me as. Do you see me that way Naruto?"

Even though Kami knew the answer already, he still bothered to ask him personally. Naruto knew that HE knew the answer as well. He was Kami after all, he knows everything! Naruto felt a lot of rage in his lifetime, but he understood now that it wasn't his fault. Neither was it Kami's fault for creating it this way. Naruto then shook his head and replied,

"No Kami, I don't. Everything happens for a reason. The reason we have problems is because our worlds are not perfect just as we aren't perfect. We all make mistakes and we learn from it. No matter how hard your life is, you can always do something about it to change it. We can't blame you for the life we live because we are responsible for our own lifestyle."

The arcane human smiled as he gazed into the flaming azure eyes of the smiling young blonde. It was a solemn moment, but it felt like it could last a lifetime as the serenity renewed the young blonde and the now calmed Kyuubi.

Kami then removed his hand from the fiery kitsune and began strolling towards his throne in the end of the room were a bright light shone upon it. Though still clueless about their sudden appearance into this mysterious realm, Naruto and Kyuubi followed Kami hoping to gain answers.

Many questions were obviously going to fly towards the arcane human as to why Naruto and his tenant were summoned. Kami knew that they needed answers as all three then halted while Kami sat down upon his golden throne and snapped his fingers, materializing two separate ivory chairs that sat in front of him. Their design was not of this earth as Naruto inspected the quality of the material in amazement while his foxy counterpart sat in his seat facing Kami.

The arcane human laughed at the way Naruto was touching and looking at the intricate craftsmanship of the chair. While he would love to see the blonde's antics further, much needed to be said concerning Naruto's special task. He then cleared his throat which snatched the young blonde's attention from the chair. When the blonde quickly sat in his seat, Kami then asked the young blonde the question to start all questions.

"Tell me Naruto, how much do you love Hinata?"

Naruto's heartstrings were tugged again as he heard his true love's name. Though he could no longer deny the existence of his feelings for his dead lover, he still felt grieved that the woman he so dearly loved had fell to such a tragic fate. Though his mind wished not to speak of the matter, his heart had won over it as he replied,

"Very much Kami-sama. Like I said, if I have to beg at your feet right now, or dive the depths of hell, I will to get her back. Not even death will stop me."

The arcane human could see the fire in his eyes. It was a beautiful azure flame that burned instead of his former cerulean ones. In the young blonde's past life, Naruto's eyes showed the depths of sadness that he had gone through and the definite lack of true love because of his sorrowful life. But after those events at the pit, his eyes had changed revealing a bright resolve fueled by love and determination as his passion was intense with so much zeal. Kami inwardly grinned as he began testing the young blonde.

"But you barely know her. In fact, you spent too much time chasing after another person's wife than getting to know this kind-hearted person until you were forced into a position that she could grab your attention. Is she that precious to you despite that?"

Naruto felt another string plucked as Kami began playing a tune with Naruto's heart. His words were accurate and sharp despite them being spoken so softly. However, Naruto wasn't the dense person he used to be until after the events with the Cinder Pheonix. Like the sharp point of a kunai, Naruto responded.

"She is, because she was made for me."

Kyuubi who was listening in on all of this raised an eyebrow at the blonde's statement. Kami was taking great interest upon his blonde creation as the Naruto continued his statement.

"Your second question was the exact answer in itself. By implying that I was dense to have not noticed her instead of Sakura which you implied as another person's wife, meant that you specifically made Hinata-chan for me. This argument that you presented was even more enforced by the fact that I barely even know her. Anything else, Kami-sama?"

Kami's smile grew even wider while Kyuubi looked at the blonde in astonishment. Since when has Naruto, Konoha's number one knuckleheaded ninja been so smart? It pondered on the Kyuubi's mind until like a lightbulb, it flashed in his mind when the Kyuubi said,

**You've spent a lot of time with ****Shunsui haven't you?**

The young blonde could just nod in acknowledgement as he stayed as sharp and focused as ever. Kami saw how well the young blonde had matured in just three short years. Feeling that the blonde was ready to be pressed even further, he continued his questions.

"If you had the chance to take her back from the last episode of her life, would you do so willingly?"

Naruto's voice had died down as did Kyuubi. They began to realize where this conversation was going. Kami could not deny the young blonde's cries for any longer. He had known from the start that all of these things that the three had gone through would happen. But he permitted it for a plan that only he knew. As he felt the young blonde's gaze upon him widen in dismay, he then gave the finishing blow as he struck his point at the young blonde.

"What if I told you to go back to your past life so you could see her again?"

Naruto and Kyuubi had become speechless. They never expected this to happen, or rather, they could not believe that this was happening. Kyuubi had known all along about the hints that Kami was placing at their feet. But he knew there had to be some catch as with every time altering event.

'_**Every event that alters time has a huge price to pay. Whether it is one person or two, with body or just soul, a price is paid for the effect to take place.'**_

The wise fox thought to himself as he assessed the situation. He then voiced out to Naruto to snap him out of his senses so that he could listen to reality.

**Naruto…**

The rarely said word of Kyuubi did its trick as Naruto snapped out of his stargazing mode as he looked at Kyuubi in wonder at what the fox wanted this time. Kyuubi then made his inference clear to his master.

**Time traveling is no joke. It is a serious matter as it tampers with the very fabric of existence. For every alteration to the hands of time, its springs and clockwork is altered too. We don't know what could happen if we tried to go back, but despite the extremely high risks involved, it may be the only way to see your mate once again and change your past life.**

Every fabric, muscle, bone, in fact, his entire being wished to go back when he heard all this. It was a fantasy turned real that he could go back and love the girl who loved him. His thoughts were swirling in his head as his emotions began to rise in elation. Forget the risk, he was much to happy to think about risks than forever knowing that seeing her again was a lost cause as he began to ponder on this in his head.

'_I can see Hinata-chan again and do things the right way! Kami-sama is providing me a second chance at life for me to live to the fullest with her by my side! But then…'_

The blonde then sighed as he realized something important.

"But Kami-sama, her soul was merged with the soul of Suzaku. Even if we went back in time, she would not be there at all because she wouldn't exist. Not to mention the radical risks involved in—"

Before the young blonde could continue, the divine being said,

"All taken cared of."

The young blonde and Kyuubi looked a mixture of surprised and confused. Their confusion was obviously about something that they missed out concerning the seals of the elemental gods of the earth. Kami then began the explanation as he questioned them about their knowledge of the seal of Suzaku.

"You know about the keys needed to open the seals I placed upon them."

They both nodded understanding wherein the problem lay. Kami then continued his explanation as he leaned over and rested his hands under his nose as his elbows rested on his legs implying his thinking pose.

"When the key is activated, the specific seal is broken allowing them a universal timeline like the timeline of Soul Society, back on earth. This means that they are free to roam around as the ethereal beings they are. But I knew that if ever there was a necessary key, there would also be overspills or excess sacrifices that could occur. So I developed a failsafe in the seal just for such a case."

Kyuubi, as sharp as ever, knew about this from the start because he was there to witness it. Though it wasn't a close witnessing of the performed seal, he was close enough to actually see Kami perform it. Kyuubi felt that he had ground here and said,

**The failsafe was to send the excess sacrifice towards the rift in time as a direct result of a miscalculation to prevent overload of the seal and give the elemental god a tainted version of the key or too much power when only one was needed am I right Kami-sama?**

Kami just stared into the slit crimson eyes of the nine tailed fox as the kitsune's confidence began to gain ground once more in the conversation. Kami then replied to the assertive fox with all his wisdom.

"No."

This killed the fox's confidence as his mind ran in confusion once again. Naruto felt it as well. It was a simple reply that carried much doubt concerning what they already knew of the seal and those sealed in it. Kami knew better than allowing the god's to be tainted once more and gain too much power as a result of miscalculation. Kami then helped the two in confusion before him as he enlightened them.

"The true purpose of the seal was for them to learn their lesson and nothing more. I will not allow excess sacrifices beyond what was already needed. Life is precious and cannot be replaced."

Naruto who sat back through this discussion felt he needed to voice out in this situation. He too thought that it was the reason for the seal in the first place from what he gathered at the archives and the library. He then asked in confusion.

"So what was the failsafe for?"

The calm and cool Kami then smiled when he heard his cue. He knew that this would really rile up the young blonde's blood when Naruto hears what is about to come out of his lips. Kami then took a deep breath and exhaled his next words.

"The failsafe was a trap for the elemental god. True it was for excess sacrifices in the sense that it would prevent them from merging with the elemental god, but the moment the elemental god gains the key he doesn't need any more and the excess sacrifice negates the elemental god's right to the soul of the key. As a result, he loses his immortality and becomes bound to the bodies of the sacrifices as a penalty for the mistake. Though he will be unaffected by the timeline of your world he still ages and can die. And just like any soul that dies, the souls that were supposed to be sacrificed end up in Soul Society."

It didn't take long for both the master and tenant to react to the new information fresh from Kami's mind as they simultaneously shouted,

"WHAAAATT?!"

A jaw dropped expression and saucer for eyes comically fit their expressions as they looked at Kami in utter disbelief. Naruto was the first to speak again while still in his confused state.

"YOU'RE SAYING THAT SHE WAS REBORN IN SOUL SOCIETY ALL THIS TIME AND I MISSED HER?!!!!"

Kami could just laugh as he saw Naruto berating his lifelong tenant for not noticing this either. Kyuubi did the same making it more comical to watch as the two were at each other's throats with profanities as their weapons.

In order to prevent the two from starting an all out war in his dimension Kami cleared his throat. This snatched their attention once more.

**F-forgive me Kami-sama! I should not have acted so rashly!**

The once again terrified kitsune said as he bowed down in respect to the divine creator. However, when he looked at Naruto, he panicked at the insolence of the young blonde.

**Oi! Gaki! Pay your respects to Kami-sama!**

The firey kitsune said as he glared at his still dumbfounded master who had not done the same. When Naruto heard his tenant scream at him in dismay, he quickly bowed down as well and replied with fright in his voice.

"Go-go-gomenasai Kami-sama! I should have been more respectful in your presence!"

The still smiling Kami calmly replied,

"It's alright Naruto. We can't have a working relationship together if you didn't act like yourself. And don't worry too much about not seeing Hinata. Remember, just because you were sent together to Soul Society, doesn't mean you will see each other in the same timeline. That's why I kept a hold on her soul from being reborn right away while you were transported there."

Naruto sighed in relief when he heard the kind hearted Kami had Hinata's soul with him in his grasp. As he realized something from Kami's words, he then thought to himself,

'_How ironic. I was both her executioner and savior at the same time. I killed her by accident and released a sealed god and then saved her when I killed myself and at the same time took away that sealed god's immortality. Karma is way too ironic that it's sometimes funny and tragic at the same time.'_

"Well who do you think invented Karma?"

The amused Kami said as he spoke to the thinking blonde. Naruto nearly jumped out of his seat when he realized that this was Kami before him. Naturally, the arcane being before him would be able to read his mind. When he safely attached this to his mind, he then asked of Kami.

"Speaking of the entire elemental gods affair, what really happened that made you step down and seal them with such a punishment? And what about the **Shiki Fujin** that still binds me and Kyuubi together? Shouldn't we be separated the moment we died?"

Naruto was right though. Many questions were still left unanswered. The young blonde wanted so many things to be answered, but for now, it would be best to ask of the more important ones in hand. Though he did not show it, Kyuubi as well was silently agreeing with his master. Kami saw the fire in their eyes as it never flickered even once. Kami then returned to his upright position on his golden throne as he answered their questions.

"The elemental gods wanted nothing more than stability and peace for the entire planet. Despite their several personality differences, they wanted harmony more than anything else. At that time when they were still in control, those within their governance had the natural ability to create and manipulate the element they were born under. It was a beautiful harmony of spirit and body as both the spiritual plane was very close to the physical one. It was peaceful for the most part until the god of lightning developed pride in himself. He was outwardly rebelling against me thinking that he could enter my realm and take over just like Aizen tried to desperately accomplish. Though the god of lightning was at fault, the other gods were at fault as well when they allowed themselves to take in the lies of the god of lightning despite my warnings, and become the very thing I did not want them to become, evil beasts. That's why I sealed them so they can regain their senses once again. But when they were sealed, much of the balance of the world was lost and I was forced to separate Soul Society as far away from the physical realm without cutting their connection off. This weakened the perfect balance your world once had making even the very people under it weaker than they once were. But it prevented a collapse of your world."

Naruto and Kyuubi drank the information in with all their might as they absorbed every ounce of knowledge in their system. Everything made sense now. The reason for nature manipulation being so difficult and why people had more chakra and less reiatsu from his world as well as the absence of hollows in that world was because of those very events. After a full minute of thinking, both nodded to urge Kami to continue, which he happily complied.

"To answer your second question, you have to understand that it was for both your benefits. I personally made sure your seals did not break when both of you died so that you could learn to live together in a symbiotic relationship. Kyuubi was once a person like you Naruto. He just needed to remember how it felt to be a human and remember how it feels to see himself again through you."

Naruto looked at Kyuubi in wide eyed amazement at what the arcane human had just said about the nine tailed fox beside him.

Naruto for the most part, saw the sympathy in the pleading eyes of his tenant. True enough, they were in a way alike these past three years in Soul Society. Those twelve years on earth were just the breaking point for his beast form while the last three in Sereitei were for his once again developing human side.

After what the Kyuubi had gone through, Naruto could finally understand why the damn fox was such a bastard all those years as the young blonde's gaze softened upon Kyuubi before returning to the same flaming azure eyes of Kami.

A blanket of serenity wrapped Naruto and his servant as it renewed their souls once more. They needed every ounce of serenity after what they had gone through and everything they heard. When the jinchuuriki and his servant had calm down, Kami proceeded to reopen the choice to Naruto.

"So Naruto, are you going to go back?"

Naruto still could not believe his ears. It was the chance of a lifetime. He was given the choice to go back and re-live his life the way he should have with all the necessary knowledge of the future. He wanted so much to go back and change everything and be with Hinata unlike back in his past life were he mostly ignored her and messed up completely.

This was the one question that all this information ran around. Kyuubi knew that his master wanted very much to return to his former self and change the course of his life.

Kami saw the shocked expression on his young blonde creation when Naruto heard his restated question. With the genuine smile on Kami's face irresistibly stealing away the heart of the nine tailed fox and tugging at the heart of Naruto, it would only take a few minutes before Naruto would give his reply as Kyuubi said to the young blonde,

**Gaki, it's the opportunity of a lifetime. You need to take this chance. If you want to ever see your mate again, and save Konoha from its fate. You'll be killing several birds with one stone!**

Naruto drank in once again the information as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes to think. Kami, being Kami, could hear every thought that the young blonde crafted in his mind and see every image that came across Naruto's mindscape as the young blonde weighed the pros and cons of the situation. Kami then thought to himself.

'_Naruto, you've really matured so quickly. Its amazing how one event could cause such a drastic change in you. Most people would have said yes without thinking. Then again, from what I hear in your head, you would too. But the fact that you're also thinking about your present situation shows that your concern isn't only for Konoha and your woman. It won't be long before you make your decision in exactly, Four…Three…Two…One…'_

"I've made my decision!"

Exclaimed the young blonde as he opened his flaming azure eyes once more to gaze upon Kami who in return nodded urging the blonde to continue. Naruto's heart was fluttering around despite his commitment. His mind this time had won over. It was do or die, not taking back your decisions as the young blonde opened his lips and said,

"I'm not going back."

How ironic. The chance of a lifetime yet he chose not to go back. Kyuubi leaped of his seat and stood right in front of the blonde. A mix of anger and confusion ran through the boiling blood of the fiery kitsune as Kyuubi barked at Naruto.

**WHY GAKI? YOU'RE THROWING AWAY THIS CHANCE FOR WHAT? GIVE ME A GOOD REASON TO THROW AWAY KAMI-SAMA'S GIFT TO YOU!**

Naruto looked the confused kitsune in his crimson eyes. His words were sharp and loud. Though undeterred by the sudden outburst of emotion, Naurto's stare became softer though he did not lead his eyes astray. After a few seconds of gazing with determination in his eyes, he then eyed Kami and said,

"There's nothing I can really do about the past. The past is the past. Our future is more important. If I go to the past to try to change things, I won't be very different from Sasuke who is living in it. Hinata may have died, but I want to honor her death by continuing in this life. By going back, means that I had regrets in my life and couldn't accept the life I lived and all the things I learned from it. All those experiences would mean nothing if I went back. As much as I would want to see Hinata again in that life, it would be better if she and I were together in this life. I'm really sorry Kami-sama, but I have to decline your offer. Thank you anyway for your concern."

Kyuubi saw the determination in the young blonde's eyes. He made a good point. True it would be great to go back, but he neverliked taking shortcuts. In fact, he never believed in shortcuts from what he went through. He believed so strongly in making a difference the way he could, by working hard and earning your way through. That was HIS way of the ninja. The fiery kitsune bowed his head in acknowledgement as he said,

**Baka. But there's nothing I can do. As your sword and friend, I will follow your will…Even if you have to go through things alone.**

Naruto nodded at the Kyuubi statement. While Kami bowed his head and smiled in understanding. As Naruto stood from his seat and was about to turn around, Kami then asked him,

"But why do you have to do things alone when you have friends to help you? Are you afraid to fail them if you go back?"

Naruto froze where he stood. Kami being the superior being, knew what was tugging the young blonde's heart. Before Naruto could react, Kami then began piercing his heart with more words of wisdom.

"Just because you're returning to the past doesn't mean you're living in it. Actually, by changing your past, you can change your future because you're thinking about the future and not the past so you're still honoring her last words not to regret. Furthermore, those experiences would still have meaning because the fact that you learned from them and decided not to make the same mistakes again means that you grew from it. I know how you feel Naruto. I can see and feel it in your heart. You're scared and unsure if you can change things without fail, but don't lose heart. No man is an island. Everyone needs to watch each other's back, that's what a team is. You're not alone in this. Your past, present and future have proven that time and again."

Naruto then turned around to face Kami as the divine being stepped down from his seat and cupped the cheeks of Naruto as he looked into the teary eyed face of Naruto before taking him in a warm embrace as he continued to comfort the crying blonde in his arms with his sweet words of wisdom.

"It's alright. You don't have to be afraid. If Kyuubi is your sword, then I will be your shield. I never leave my nakama in something they can't handle. You're stronger, braver and purer than what anyone has said negatively about you. I love you for who you are just like the way Hinata does. So don't be afraid anymore. Don't let that fire die. Let it burn brighter than the stars and bluer than the sky. You don't always have to earn everything. Sometimes, you just need to accept the gifts that lay down at your feet. They are gifts that were given to you from the abundance of the heart of the giver."

Kami then released his embrace as he looked the young blonde in his flaming azure eyes and wiped his tears away. Naruto felt the incredible warmth of the divine being as Kami's fire began to engulf Naruto inside out. His flame consumed the young blonde's darkness and fears as it burned away leaving only a light of hope in Naruto's heart. Kami then continued his sweet words to the young blonde.

"Always remember why you do what you do and the reason it is important to you. Because if you are worth it to them then…"

The arcane human stopped as he waited for Naruto to comply. Naruto looked at Kyuubi who nodded in agreement with Kami's urge. The young blonde who had now found hope once more and renewed strength and vigor, said,

"Then they are worth it to you. Thank you Kami-sama. I really needed that"

The arcane human just smiled as he said,

"No problem. Besides, I never said it was an offer, it was a command. So whether you liked it or not, you would still have to go."

Naruto just scratched his head and grinned as he sweat dropped in realization that Kami did in fact order him to. There was no escape from this one. Kami then dropped his pleasantries as he eyed the blonde and Kyuubi seriously. They now understood that Kami is serious about this mission as they felt a sudden change in the atmosphere as the air of serenity became an air of seriousness and coldness.

Kyuubi listened in intent as Naruto swallowed hard not knowing what to expect. When the two finally got in the mood to listen, Kami then began to command like a seasoned general as he gave them the specific orders necessary for the mission.

"I will open a rift in time and send you back to your past life. Though you will be in the body of a six year old, your soul would still be older. You will still have all your memories and experiences intact as well as any powers you have gained from your shinigami training. Am I making myself clear so far?"

Kami said as his voice became more serious with every word he uttered. As the two felt the tension become thicker, Naruto then asked Kami as questions concerning the divine appointment given to him began to flutter in his mind.

"Why as a six year old? Will the body of my soul age with my physical body? And will I be able to use my techniques perfectly in my physical body?"

Kami then shook his head as he continued.

"No, not completely. Remember, you learned those in your soul form. So it will take some time for your body to get accustomed to the techniques especially your shinigami powers. Your mind will know it but your body won't. That's why I'm sending you back to an age when you have the time to get re-accustomed to your powers before you go through with the genin exams. And to answer the age gap problem, your soul's body won't age until your physical one reaches its age so that they can age together in harmony."

Naruto and Kyuubi nodded in acknowledgement as they understood the logic of their divine general as he continued his orders.

"Though I will be sending you back, take note that I will also be sending the other's back who lived at that time. Hinata isn't the only one who will be sent back. But this won't affect the timeline of Soul Society. So technically, you will still be a taicho and considered missing until they find you. Try not to get them involved until at least after the chunnin exams. But if they do ask why you have a body again, tell them who's bossing you around and they'll get the picture. Just don't let it get over your head. Is there anything else before we begin t send you towards your new destination?"

Naruto got the picture but still had much to ask. Kami nodded at the young blonde urging him to ask away. Kyuubi did the same knowing that they won't have another chance like this again.

"Kami-sama, I've been having trouble fusing shinobi and shinigami techniques together. Can you tell me the problem? Another thing as well, I might not be able to remember everything I learned from the past three years in Sereitei. Is there a way I can go back and get my notebook before I go? All my important information is there."

Kami then smiled again as he returned back into the happy-go-lucky persona he first showed as he grabbed a black notebook from his loose, right sleeve and said,

"Taken cared of. As for the chakra-reiatsu fusion techniques, remember the canal that Kyuubi used connect the pools of water?"

Naruto nodded as Kami-sama continued.

"Try finding the center. No matter what form it changes into, it is still energy. All you have to do is keep it in the center where it is energy in its purest state and neither chakra or reiatsu. As you gain control of that balanced energy, it slowly widens the canal allowing you another pool of energy reserves to draw from until it gets big enough that it engulfs your pools of chakra and reiatsu. Anything else you might need?"

Naruto thought hard for a minute before he shook his head. There was no turning back at this point onward. Kami then gave the blonde his book and began drawing with his finger, a large circle in the ground behind the ivory chairs as he drew what seems to be a magic circle and began writing on it. As Naruto and Kyuubi looked in intent at the arcane seal, Naruto realized that the very seal he was writing had the same lettering as the seal in his notebook. His widened eyes showed his shock and astonishment at the possibilities he had with his sealing technique. Kami, who was reading the young blonde's thoughts, then said as he wrote in the ground,

"The ancient tongue is a sealing technique that I invented. Your mentor Jiraya found out about it from an ancient cave he went in once. It's very powerful and easy to use. Though it's as simple as writing words, it contains much power. Words are not to be toyed with or taken for granted Naruto. Unfortunately, you won't remember how to do this specific seal because I won't permit it."

The young blonde then nodded as he put his arms behind his head and replied,

"Makes sense. The last thing we need is to put your special place in jeopardy."

When Kami had finished, Naruto stood in the center of the magic circle with Kyuubi close by. Kami then began to write seals upon Naruto and Kyuubi. Naruto was curious as to what kind of seals that Kami needed to write on him. Kami understood his curiosity and explained to the questioning blonde.

"These set of seals will prevent your physical bodies from overloading with chakra and reiatsu when you merge with your past life. The seal acts like your chakra transfer seal with Kyuubi except on a larger scale. It will take time before your body gets accustomed to the excess energy, but when it finally adapts, it will allow you to use your 'future' techniques much easier. This would be best if it was at an age before puberty. Give or take…six years of age would be adequate don't you think?"

The grinning Kami said at the young blonde who grinned back in acknowledgement. Kami prepared for everything. There were still risks involved, but since it was Kami nothing could go wrong. Both Naruto and Kyuubi felt safer knowing that Kami was performing this seal and no one else. As the fiery kitsune reshaped into his zanpakuto mode behind Naruto, the seals on his body and on the floor started to glow. Kami then stepped out of the circle and faced the determined blonde. The divine being then closed his eyes as he raised his arms at the blonde and began speaking an incantation in an unknown language.

"**Admittere abi silentium innovo abi ensiferahomoabensisabcidereab manus abtempus**(_Let the silence renew the swordsman and his sword as they cut the hands of time.)_

**Aequitas animisertum vindicta abi ensiferahomo insculpoabi meatusficereabiputiculi.**" (_Justice will reclaim vengeance as the swordsman carves his way through the catacombs.)_

With the last words of his incantation, Kami then pressed his two hands together as he opened his eyes revealing their now cyan color. Naruto felt the tremendous power as he struggled to stand up straight. The intense amount of energy was overwhelming. It was as if he was going to be engulfed and consumed in the power that Kami was outputting from the seal. Kami however did not look winded or that he was concentrating hard. It seemed so easy for the divine being to perform as the arcane human smiled and said,

"This will be the last time we see each other like this. Good luck on your mission Naruto. I'll be here watching over you like always."

Naruto then grinned as he said,

"Don't worry, I won't fail you Kami-sama, now…Ikimasho!"

Kami then slowly removed his hands from one another. As his hands moved away, a bright light engulfed Naruto as the brilliance blinded the young blonde. And as swiftly as the light had engulfed him, so was its disappearance as the young blonde disappeared from sight.

"Naruto, this is my command to you. Stop the awakening of the elemental gods, and re-live your life. I want you to live the way you should have despite what the people have done to you and are going to you once again. You have lived this life once, you can live it again. I hope that you and Hinata live happy together."

Kami said as he returned to his seat and opened a small compartment in the left armrest and placed his finger in the seal which was shaped in the symbol of the Konoha leaf, in the middle of the compartment causing it to glow before it vanished.

Naruto at this point could only see darkness after that brilliant flash of light before falling into slumber as he closed his eyes. It was a grand moment as a new adventure would begin. He was on the mission of a lifetime as his mission was his lifetime itself. He would get to see the love of his life once more and share his love to her the way she shared it to him before she died. His goal was set as his resolve reinforced itself for the orders from the divine being…from the very lips of the arcane human, he would perform, Kami's command.

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It's pretty short, but it should be so I can get down to writing his return to Konoha and the romance between Naruto and Hinata. So everything is explained for the latest part of the plot. I really had a hard time doing the latin part so forgive me if it's wrong. I read the latest reviews and I'm surprised that someone was able to guess what was going to happen in this chapter. Hopefully, the story won't be very predictable in the future. But thank you for all the reviews. Right now I have to refresh my memory of the first few episodes of Naruto so that I can make sure that I'm writing the story correctly. Till next time, Ja ne!


	11. Return to Konoha

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: I really hate writing in latin. Good thing he won't be appearing anymore. This chapter focuses on Mirai Naruto reliving his past as he changes it for the future.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 11**

_**Return to Konoha**_

The past we must relive…

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The blinding light finally faded as the young blonde peered into darkness.

"Where are we?"

The blonde asked his nine tailed companion.

**I can't really tell. But I'm feeling sleepy. Need…to take…a nap…**

The young blonde's tenant replied as he began to groggily fall into slumber. Naruto felt his knees give way as he too was falling into slumber. His entire body began to grow cold as he fell deeper in the darkness. As both fell into the depths of that darkness, Kyuubi returned from his zanpakuto state into Naruto's stomach as the **Shiki Fujin** seal glowed in a faint red before disappearing leaving no trace. The half-asleep blonde knew then that he was entering a different realm when he noticed the red flash of light enter his stomach indicating that he was entering the physical plane.

The dimness of his surroundings did not fade as he finally hit the dark ground. Though he hit it with such a force that would normally hurt like hell, not even an ounce of pain ran through his body as he felt the spongy floor he was in. he couldn't move from his prone position as his body had fully given in to slumber. The coldness that filled the air soon became warmer as a warm breeze swept by. The young blonde could only think one thing as his eyes gave way to sleep as well.

'_It's so warm…this warmth…have I gone back? This warmth…is…'_

While the blonde was about to drift peacefully into sleep, a scandalous sound awoken the blonde as he opened his flaming azure eyes to the beat of the sound. His alarm clock had gone off. Naruto lazily brought his left hand as he aimed it at the source of the ringing. The liven alarm clock died instantly as a sharp blade of wind pierced through it before dispersing as it left a slight crack on the wall.

'_It's good to know my elemental powers are back though normally, I would've been able to punch a hole through the wall.'_

The young blonde then got up from his bed and peered through the window as the sun glared in the sky over the busy streets below. Naruto saw that he was back in Konoha. As he looked further towards the direction of the monument, he finally saw the sign that confirmed that he was in the right time period, the head of the godaime was nowhere in sight.

The young blonde lazily walked through his old apartment passed the kitchen and into the bathroom where he saw the second sign that he was in the right timeline, he was looking at a six year old boy with short but spiky blonde hair. Naruto smiled as he said,

"Thank you Kami-sama for sending me back to change the past. I'll always be thankful for you everyday."

Before Naruto could say or do anything further, another voice rang in his head.

**Gaki, look at the sink.**

Naruto immediately recognized the voice. It was the voice of Kyuubi. If Kyuubi wasn't his zanpakuto, he wouldn't be able to hear him this clearly. Doing as his tenant asked, Naruto looked over the sink and saw a black notebook with a card attatched to it on the front. As Naruto picked up the black notebook, he then read the card and smiled once more as it read,

_Dear Naruto,_

_It looks like the seal was a success even though you can't remember exactly how I did it. If you were wondering about the language that I used, don't bother to ask. You have to search it yourself. Anyway, the seal on the elemental gods is weakening as we speak. The biggest risk that was involved in bringing you back was the stress it would put on the seals of the gods. It's a good thing I didn't send you back to age two. If I did, the entire seal would break by the time you turned six allowing utter chaos as the gods battled it out once again. Don't worry this time though. You still have a lot of time before it could fully break since there wasn't as much stress upon their seals. The seal that is closest to breaking at this time would be the one of Byakko of the Wind. By the time of the end of the chuunin exams, she would be freed. I don't know about you, but you'd best learn some fire jutsus by that time. Anyway, Hinata's back along with everyone else who was alive at that time. Always remember, that if you are worth loving to her, she is worth loving to you._

_Kami-sama._

_P.S._

_The battle between Sereitei and Aizen's corps has ended with Soul Society the victor. Currently they are searching for you as we speak. So keep it minimal on the reiatsu usage at least until the end of the chuunin exams._

"Well that was enlightening. Anyway, better start practicing on getting the hang of using my body now."

Naruto then swiftly took the kitchen as he began to boil water for the instant ramen he was going to have for breakfast. Though Naruto still loved eating ramen, he learned to eat healthier food when he was living in the Namikaze compound. Naruto then made another note to himself to buy healthier food or at least hunt for some in the forests of Konoha if they made it far too expensive for him to purchase. Konoha at this time still hated the young blonde and he could not afford the luxury of real food at the moment.

When the kettle began to steam in the kitchen, Naruto removed it and poured it over the instant ramen and began dining upon his meal as he and Kyuubi debated on how to approach his training so he could get his body used to his vast wealth of techniques both shinobi and shinigami.

**It's not safe to say that I can't be in zanpakuto mode at the moment. We should train in reiatsu and chakra control as of now. You never were the best in both.**

'_That's priority number two as of now. I need to scout out exactly what date I'm in so I can plan our next move. If we rush into training right away, we might miss some important things that could have been averted.'_

**Like the Kumo's kidnapping of your mate?**

'_There's nothing I can do about that one. Kami-sama knew the risks involved. Like he said, the seal maybe strong, but anymore divine intervention could allow it to break apart too soon. And besides, even if I did stop the Kumo nin, they would still want compensation for the death of their comrade. Either way, it would be a lost cause because a war would still break out.'_

**You could just subdue the bastard and ANBU could take care of the rest. But I see your point. What is one man's pain compared to a planet's?**

Both parties finally agreed as Naruto cleaned up his mess and took a quick shower. He didn't bother cleaning up his room since he knew that he probably might not get enough sleep later at night when he scouted out the entire hidden leaf village.

As he stepped out of his shower and wiped himself clean, he looked through his drawer for the clothes he was going to wear to the academy.

"Kuso. I really ought to shop for better clothing. Orange is great and all, but I'm a shinobi for Kami's sake! No shinobi wears orange! It's like saying, 'Hey! I'm a target! Kill me PLEASE!!!' Note to self: CHANGE YOUR WARDROBE!"

The young blonde said to himself as he saw several orange jumpsuits that were lined up on his rack. During his past life, he loved that color. But eventually as time passed, he realized how undermining it made his stealth because of the bright color that it emanated. As he shifted through his wardrobe for better set of clothing, he then came upon a nice set of clothing that he bought before he began buying orange clothing. It wasn't the best set of clothes, but it was better than his **E**arly **W**arning **D**evice wardrobe that he wore for last twelve years of his life. When he came out of the closet to begin his day, he was now wearing, a white shirt with the red spiral of his old clothing. Underneath it was a black sleeved shirt, and gray shorts along with blue shinobi shoes.

He didn't bother to get his goggles this time since he would be getting his hitai-ate in just six more years. Hopefully, he could still make it that far before making any accidental spillage of information of the future.

Naruto needed to be cooler and calmer this time around without drawing unwanted suspicion towards him. He knew that this time, he needed to be more serious and level-headed if he wanted to keep Konoha alive especially during the chuunin exams. He realized this during his short duties during the war against Aizen and his crew. No more was the overly hyperactive blonde as he had gone through the ugliness of war and saw many of his men fall at the hands of Aizen because of his carelessness at one point or another. Mistakes would mean drastic results as every choice he makes could kill a chance in the future. For now at least, he would do it the way he used to until after the genin exam.

The young blonde then stepped out of his apartment as he made his way through the bustling streets of Konoha. His years of experience as a shinobi and shinigami came in like instinct as he masked his chakra and reiatsu while stealthily avoiding a possible mob of angry villagers as he darted in between alley ways and on rooftops while pacing towards the academy.

When the young blonde finally arrived, he sat perched upon a telephone pole just across the academy like an animal on all fours.

'_Good, no one noticed me yet. My chakra control was better than I thought. And by the looks of it, I'm actually early this time. Guess I'll have to wait a little before I can go in.'_

The young jinchuuriki looked upon the students below who began to pace towards the academy. It was just like the old days. How he missed those days of fun and games when he would play pranks and avoid Iruka and his lectures like the plague. It was cheerful times. But those days are over as he had to re live them in seriousness since he couldn't afford to waste any more time.

Though Kami did not give him the specific amount of time before the breaking of the seal, he could estimate that at least by the time he got to the point of his life when Orochimaru died, the seal would have been fully broken.

The blonde gazed his flaming azure eyes at several genin hopefuls until he recognized some of them from his past life. One by one they entered the academy with Shino being the first. Shino was always early yet no one noticed that he was there until after class despite the fact that his bugs hated sunlight. Next was Kiba as him and his loyal pup Akamaru entered. The next were three specific people that always came at this time, Choji, Shikamaru, Lee, followed by Neji and Tenten, along with Sakura and Ino who were both competing for Sasuke's affections, along with Sasuke and several other genin hopefuls.

'_That reminds me. Sasuke lost his entire family because of Itachi at this age. And by the looks of it, he's still not brooding. But just in case, I better make a clone so I can head towards the Uchiha Complex.'_

The young blonde thought to himself as he glanced at the determined looking raven haired boy that walked inside the academy. While he lingered some more in search of one special person, his heart then fluttered as he saw her within the crowd that followed close after Sasuke.

It was the one person who gave up her life for him. It was the one person who loved him for him despite finding out about the Kyuubi…the one person who didn't reject him despite his serious flaws. It was her…Hinata.

Despite the lavender eyed girl's shy nature, deep down inside was a fiery woman who fought long and hard for his affections. Among the crowd that walked by her inside the shinobi academy, she was the only one that he saw in color among the gray background as his eyes focused upon her every part of her as a blush formed on the young blonde's face.

'_Even as a child she was already cute.'_

The young blonde thought to himself as he saw the very girl who would someday grow up to become the very woman that confessed to him that day. Though his eyes saw the bluish black haired girl that was entering the academy, his mind saw the beautiful woman she was going to become. As the young blonde stared at the young girl lovingly, Naruto's fiery tenant just chuckled in his cage as he saw her through his eyes. Feeling the urge to express his emotions, Kyuubi then said,

**Gaki, as your sword, I can see what you see and hear what you hear as well as feel what you feel.**

'_But how is that possible? Then again it was Kami's interference so I guess it could be possible. That and you are my zanpakuto. That reminds me Kyuubi, about the affinity of the soul and the merging technique…'_

Naruto mentally said to his tenant as his blush grew wider with every second of staring at his dark blue haired girl.

The fox just sighed as he too remembered mentioning it during their shinigami training. Seeing that there was no escape at this point, he then explained to his eager companion,

**Now that you have a body and soul to work with, we can do the merging technique. But that will be for tomorrow. If your hunch is as good as mine, we might be able to prevent the genocide of an entire clan.**

The young blonde just mentally nodded as he stared off into the crowd. While Hinata was about to enter the double doors of the academy, she felt two eyes staring at her despite not using the **Byakugan **to see it. As she turned around to gaze at the cement built telephone pole behind her, all she could see was nothing but a swirl of leaves passing by from the gale wind.

'_That's odd. For a second there, I thought I felt someone looking at me. Maybe it's Naruto-kun. But from all the way up there? No, I'm just imagining things. There's no way Naruto-kun would do that. He doesn't even notice me."_

Oh, how wrong she was this time. Because the young blonde that she referred to was no longer the dense fool he once was though, he still was the active young blonde that still loved causing mischief. This time he had become more serious as he matured from his countless experiences in this life and the next.

Naruto managed to get inside the academy without notice as he slipped into his classroom just the way he used to when he was this age.

Everything went just as normal with the exception of Naruto not being as loud as before. The young blonde managed to play his role well as he pulled his old set of pranks and made his same set of ranting just like the days of old. It was hilarious, but the pranks were not to an extreme unlike during his past life.

Iruka at first was suspicious about the blonde's actions especially the change in wardrobe which everyone begun to take notice, until the pranks came rolling in along with the several rants that the young blonde would naturally make. Iruka was relieved seeing Naruto this way knowing that he was still him. But he was somehow glad knowing that Naruto was slowly mellowing down. He was slowly but surely maturing…At least to his eyes.

The young blonde however was eighteen even though he was in the body of a six year old. Naruto had a lifetime of experiences both past, present and future as well as a complete understanding of death. Both life and death resided in his hands as he was a shinobi-shinigami. Naruto was doing his best to play it the way it should so as to not draw unnecessary attention to himself. The lessons he learned in class was already boring to him because he had learned it almost twelve years ago. Instead of relearning what he already learned, he was busy thinking up his plans on how to go about his training for the next six years as well as finding his father's house and inheritance. Included in his plans as well were plans for dealing with the Genin exams, Wave Mission, chuunin exams, and if worse comes to worse, Sasuke and the Akatsuki.

But the most important plan of all was how he would deal with his friends. Eventually, everything would begin with the understanding of the Kyuubi. He knew that they would all fear him if they found out. Sakura was the only one of the rookie nine that found out and she felt fear despite having known him for almost ten years. Sasuke on the other hand was an exception since he was too power hungry to fully understand. Either way, it would all boil down to saving Konoha whether they trust him or not. It didn't matter to him if they hated him. As long as they were safe and happy, he was happy.

All this plans were zooming through his mind while presently he still had to deal with Itachi with his currently limited strength and ability. By now, Itachi has the **Mangekyo Sharingan** and should be able to put the young blonde in a genjutsu which at his current abilities would be unable to defend against. Although he had other techniques that he could use, it will raise an alarm upon the identity of the blonde and cause him to lose his cover. Then again, he could tap into Kyuubi's power so that it seemed that the young blonde had accidentally awakened the Kyuubi. But even then it would kill the young blonde's cover and actually worsen his current living conditions since he would be seen as an immediate threat.

He had little time left, to think as the day went by. Noon had just ended as the sun began to die down in the sky. As the young blonde ran into the tree line and masked his presence, he once again thought to himself upon how he would be able to take down the soon to be infamous Itachi Uchiha.

'_Kyuubi, I need some suggestions here. How do we kill an Uchiha and the most powerful one living today?'_

The nine tailed fox growled at the young blonde's question.

**You're asking me how to do what I've been trying to do myself? Baka. Unless you were a ghost of some sort…wait! There is a way! You still have the substitute shinigami** **emblem don't you?**

The young blonde's flaming azure eyes opened wider as he remembered the special item that his tenant mentioned to the young blonde. Naruto saw Ichigo having one and took note how handy it was than having to lug around a gikongai that could definitely mess up his missions when he was in Karakura town.

Naruto looked through his pockets and under his shirt. It was nowhere to be found.

'_Kuso! I must have left it back in the classroom!'_

The young blonde stormed out of the tree line as he made his way back into the classroom so he can search his seat. As Naruto looked through his seat in the empty classroom, he found his black notebook under his desk where it fell. That small notebook was more precious than his life as it contained an entire lifetime of information that was necessary for his mission. He sighed in content as he managed to locate his notebook.

"I really need to be more careful with my stuff. Note to self: Never ever leave this notebook behind."

The young blonde said to himself. However, though he didn't notice the sudden presence, he felt something odd in the room. Because he was so engrossed in his search for his precious item, he wasn't able to notice the lavender eyes that gazed upon him lovingly as a blush formed on the face of the shy Hyuga that peered from the doorframe at the young blonde.

Naruto quickly hid the notebook under his shirt as it rested in his shorts close to his stomach. When the young blonde finally stopped and felt the change in atmosphere, he managed to locate that specific chakra signature that has been staring at him all day.

"Hi there! Hinata-chan."

The young blonde said as he turned around and stared into her lavender eyes lovingly. He was drowning in those orbs of kindness and purity as the young girl quickly left her gaze, and flustered a bright crimson while she stood behind a wall.

Naruto made a small smile at the young girl's antics as he remembered that the woman he loved at this time was still a shy young girl at this age. As much as he'd like to stay and reminisce, he needed to accomplish his task. He quickly made a shadow clone and his real self leaped out the window while the shadow clone was free to walk around doing the normal things he did at this age.

* * *

Meanwhile…In the office of the sotaicho, Ichigo, Ishida, Chad, Inoue, and Rukia stood before the aging old man as his hardened gaze fell upon them from his paper stacked desk.

Although the battle was won, the ninth division captain was nowhere to be found. In fact, no one knew where he had gone as he just left like a whisper only to leave no trace.

The five people who stood before the aging old man knew that whatever he had in store for them, was a heavy burden to bear indicated by Ichigo swallowing hard as he stepped up to the cross scarred, bald old man before him.

"Jiji, What's so important that you had to call us here?"

The old warrior's face stood unflinched by the pet name he was given as a more serious matter was at hand. He looked at them hard and replied,

"I have a mission for you five. It seems that Naruto, the ninth division captain, has gone missing. What are even stranger are that many souls who had come from the world he was from coincidentally disappeared as well."

The squad of five got the picture as they put two and two together. Ishida, who being the sharpest, stepped up as well and said,

"So we have to find him. If my hunch is right, he might have gone back to his homeland along with the spirits of his world. But then again he might have gotten lost in Karakura town after that battle."

Seeing the logic in Ishida's statement, Chad stepped up next and said,

"We'll have to split into two teams to find him."

The rest agreed with Chad as they exited the office and began their search of the whereabouts of the young blonde. As they exited the first division headquarters, Ichigo then spoke up.

"So if we're going to find Naruto, we need to get to his homeland. Urahara-san might know how to get there so I'll head over to his place. How about you guys?"

Rukia expected her orange haired friend to act that way. She then said to him,

"What about his parents? I heard that they're still here in Soul Society. We could find out from them too where he could have gone."

Any form of lead would help at this point. It didn't matter where or when, but they needed everything they could possible get their hands on to save their friend from whatever fate had fallen upon him.

Inoue, who felt left out of the conversation, spoke up towards them in a voice of confidence never heard of from her.

"I'll accompany Rukia-san. Sado-kun and Ishida-kun can search back at home while Kurosaki-san can search his homeland. It shouldn't take long from his parents so we can join Kurosaki-san later on if just in case he is there."

The four of them looked at the orange haired girl in utter amazement at the display of confidence she showed. She was brave no doubt, but confident like this was a different story. Naruto had impacted her life the way he had impacted all of them. It was strange how he could, but it was definitely certain that he has made a positive role in all of their lives.

And without further delay, they began their search as they went their separate ways. Ichigo knew that he wouldn't disappear from the battlefield just like that. After all, he had fought with the 'Golden Flash of Soul Society' during the advanced guard against Aizen's forces. It might be a bleak search mission, but for a friend like him, it would matter.

* * *

The young blonde leapt from the window as he made his way towards the Uchiha Compound. Though it was only the afternoon, he feared the worst was happening as he spoke.

While the original was down to business as he moved as fast as his six year old body could take him, the clone left behind in the room was casually making his way out of the classroom to play his part. The shy Hinata was still backed against the wall unsure of what to do. She had no idea how to approach this situation as her thoughts raced in her mind.

'_This is my chance. Naruto-kun and I are alone together. It doesn't matter how he knew where I was, I can finally talk to him…Wait! You can't do that! What if he rejects me or ignores me like last time? After all I'm just a nobody to him. But he knows me! He said my name! Then again were in the same class so…but still…I…I…'_

"Anything wrong Hinata-chan?"

The young blonde said as he broke her from her thoughts while he stood by the doorway. Naruto knew very well how shy she still was so he kept his distance that way he could catch her if she fainted, but not too far away so that he can ravish in her beauty as he gazed upon her lovingly.

Though she still did not know it, but the young blonde was falling deeper and deeper in love with her as he glanced at her. Every batting of her eyelash was driving him wild with passion as his flaming azure eyes met her lavender ones. When the young Hyuga heiress caught herself gazing at him, she averted her gaze as she twiddled her fingers and stared into the floor as she began to bloom like a flower.

"N-nothing's w-wrong Naruto-kun."

The young girl stuttered. Naruto's clone just scratched his head and grinned. Now was not the time to jump the gun and make her his at this time. He still wasn't sure if she would accept him the same way back in the future when she died. So playing it cool, Naruto then said,

"That's good to hear. I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name's Naruto Uzumaki. But you already know that."

The shy girl then replied,

"I-I'm Hinata…H-Hinata Hyuga…I-it's nice to get r-reacquainted Naruto-kun."

Her blush grew wider as she said those few words.

"So Hinata-chan, what were you doing awhile ago?"

The young blonde questioned her as he tried to act oblivious of her stalking nature. The young girl just shook her head as she said,

"N-n-nothing Naruto-kun. I-I was just e-entering the classroom t-to see if I-I misplaced anything."

Though she tried to lie, her blush said the opposite. Naruto just smiled as he bought the obvious lie. He knew it would be hard for her to talk to him straight and he understood completely. The young blonde then said as he chuckled,

"Ok. For a second there I thought it would be something else like you stalking me or something like that."

Hinata made a weak smile as she blushed a shade of crimson. She felt the sudden uneasiness from what he just said since obviously that's what she was doing.

"Say Hinata-chan, you still hungry? Cause class won't start again at for at least another hour. I still have some of my sandwiches with me. You want to share?"

This snapped the girl in attention as she stared at him and zoned out as her thoughts raced once more.

'_Naruto-kun wants to eat with me…I'm feeling faint…'_

Naruto quickly noticed her static expression of surprise and mentally cursed himself. He knew how shy she was and still his stupidity got the best of him. It was a good thing he was in range to catch her if she fainted. But if the girl fainted now it would be bad.

"S-sure N-n-Naruto-kun."

The young blonde was surprised that she didn't faint this time. Naruto then grinned as he took her by the hand, which caused her to blush again, and ran up to the rooftop of the academy.

The lavender eyed Hinata was still shocked in her mind at what was happening. Here was the love of her life, taking her by the hand towards their destination and further more, sharing his lunch with her.

'_N-Naruto-kun i-is holding my h-hand. I can't believe this…He wants to eat lunch with me…I-I'm even stuttering in my mind. This feels like a dream…But it's not…He even says the word chan at the end of my name…I feel happy…'_

When the two had finally reached the top, Naruto sat by the balcony and pat the ground next to him, urging her to sit beside him. Hinata slowly complied as she warily sat beside him not knowing what to do until Naruto brought out his sandwiches and gave her one with a smile. Hinata blushed at the display of cute kindness the young blonde portrayed as she smiled back and took the sandwiches. They began to talk about mostly the day and what had happened this morning. Both enjoyed each other's conversation as they ate their sandwiches. Eventually, the conversation drifted towards the Hinata's family as Naruto said.

"So Hinata-chan, you're from the Hyuga clan right? I heard it's one of the most powerful clans in Konoha."

The shy girl nodded.

"H-hait. It's the clan I was born into."

"That's so cool! I wish I was born into a cool clan like that. I bet you're treated like a princess there!"

The young blonde replied. Hinata however didn't feel as elated as she remembered how they really treated her in the clan. Naruto saw her sad expression and did what any six- year old would do.

"Are you alright Hinata-chan?"

The young girl just shook her head and made a weak smile. Naruto couldn't understand what sort of pain she went through in her life, but he could clearly see that it began here at this age. He knew that the Hyuga clan had problems. This time, he wanted her to find courage despite this. He wanted her to become the strong woman she was in the future and it would start here.

"I don't know what kind of problems you have Hinata-chan, but you can talk to me about it if ever you need someone to talk to."

The young blonde said to her in a more serious tone as compassion filled his eyes. Hinata smiled at him with thankfulness in her heart as she said,

"Arigato Naruto-kun."

"We better get back. Iruka sensei might get mad at me for dragging you out here."

The young blonde replied as he stood up and stretched his hand out to the young Hyuga heiress. For a moment she blushed at the young blonde as she took his hand and was pulled to her feet. But she smiled knowing he was just being the friendly person that she adored as they both entered the classroom without any suspicion.

'_It's good to know that we're starting out right. Even better that she lost her stutter for a moment. Although it's cute to look at, I love the woman she will become even more. If you're feeling this right now original, know that our mission with our mate is a success.'_

Aside from the several heated remarks that Iruka made towards the young blonde for not giving his complete attention to the brown haired chuunin's lessons, the day went fine for the clone. However the original's was a whole other story.

* * *

Naruto had just launched himself from the window and gracefully landed into a back alley a little way from the academy. He ran for an hour until he found a nice clearing where he can run without fearing being spotted. Before he ran any further towards the Uchiha complex, he said to himself,

"I know we need to lie low with reiatsu usage, but we need to gauge the extent of my abilities with my physical body. So here goes nothing."

Naruto then crouched down as he prepared to use **shunpo** with his physical body. He began to pour reiatsu to his feet until he could feel the flow of spiritual power empower his ankles as he dashed towards the Uchiha complex. He was glad that he wasn't completely hampered by his corporeal form as he made it there in three minutes flat.

"Not bad for a start. Looks like no one noticed me. But that was really tiring. No wonder I need six years to get used to it. Now that I'm here, I can start—"

Before he could continue speaking as he dusted off the ends of his pants, His tenant could smell something ominously familiar.

**Gaki! That smell is our cue!**

Naruto began to sniff the air in accordance to what his tenant had proclaimed. The faint metallic odor began to reek from the Uchiha complex. He grit his teeth as he leaped into a nearby tree and quickly flashed through the pages until he found the exact passage in his book where he had stored the emblem that he had made from the twelfth division taicho for him. He then placed his fingers upon the ancient text and poured his reiatsu upon the passage. The text then began to shift and disappear as it materialized into the emblem.

**Hurry up gaki! The body count has already risen!**

Without delay, he placed the book back under his shirt as he used the emblem to release his spirit from his body. The young blonde's eyes became a fiery cyan as he left his body to rest on that tree branch while he dashed at warp speed towards the source of the metallic scent that painted the streets of the Uchiha compound with its crimson color.

Death was all that the blonde could see as the afternoon was slowly growing into darkness. He could not find the Uchiha prodigy that was causing such destruction until he realized where his final destination would be.

"Kuso. I'm too late. By the looks of things, he's already massacred everyone else. But at the very least, I can probably save the two most precious people of Sasuke."

The young blonde then removed the black cloth tying his long locks of hair in the back and began to wrap it around his face so it covered his whisker marked cheeks and mouth as well as half of his nose. When he finished, he **shunpo'd **his way into the main Uchiha house and began searching every room for the last remaining Uchihas aside from Itachi and Sasuke.

"Kuso! Where are they!"

The young blonde cursed. His tenant was getting more and more agitated as he said,

**Gaki! Calm down and remember your training! If you want to save their lives, your absolute focus is needed in order to save them. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment or else you'll never find them.**

Naruto then took his zanpakuto's word to heart as he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He began to concentrate as reiatsu strings began to emerge around him. He searched for an entire second until he found two red strings and grabbed them with all his might. He then opened his eyes and headed for the shed just behind the house.

He leaped over the house and onto the rooftops where he saw the young Itachi fighting his father with absolute intention to kill. The aging man had a deep wound from his right side despite how well he fought against his son. Itachi however, saw his efforts as nothing more than child's play as he dodged a kunai thrown to his head by tilting it to the side. He opened his eyes to reveal his fully matured **sharingan** as he swiftly made another sword strike and wounded his father's right arm. Taking advantage of his staggering form, Itachi made a sharp side kick to the open wound of the man, breaking his ribs and causing him to fall over his wounded wife. The aging man screamed in pain while his wife pushed the double doors open and dragged the both of them to the center of the room where the could no longer move.

Itachi followed the trail of blood starting from the door all the way towards the center where the wounded couple lay breathing heavily and coughing out blood as they were to meet their end. Itachi stood there behind them with sword drawn and ready to cleave the kneeling two.

"Any last words before you journey to the next life?"

Neither of the two responded to their son's words as they bowed their heads in defeat. They felt it in their hearts the pain that they would feel now would be almost none existent when he sends them on their way to the next life. They knew that it could come down to this with the way Itachi was acting for the past couple of days. But never could they imagine it happening this way.

The raven haired teen with his crimson **sharingan** eyes ablaze, stared at them coldly as he brought down his sword to cleave their flesh in one mighty blow.

The sound of steel was heard instead of the ripping of flesh. The two who awaited death looked up from their defeated state and saw Itachi's sword stopped in midair. The sword arm of the cold killer shook as it tried to press deeper to cleave the two only to be resisted by an invisible force. The dying couple was confused as they saw nothing but an invisible silhouette stopping the steel of the red eyed killer. To the eyes of this cold hearted killer however, he saw through his **sharingan** eyes the person standing under his blade with a high defense guard with his custom made katana.

He was a teen just about his height in a sleeveless black hakama and sleeveless white haori with a black lined rhombus and the kanji for nine in the middle of it on the back. The same color of the haoir was on the sash tying his hakama together along with several kunai holsters strapped to his legs and black tabi boots wrapped with black cloth that wrapped around the ends of his pants to prevent unnecessary hindrances in movement. The lower part of his face was wrapped in black cloth and he wore a black hitai-ate with the Konoha symbol engraved on it that held his long locks of hair up but did not completely prevent it from covering parts of his face.

The blonde haired youth stared his flaming azure eyes upon the red **sharingan** eyes of the teen. Itachi was surprised by the sudden entry of the blonde. He didn't even notice the youth enter and somehow he stepped in under his radar without difficulty. Itachi then questioned this bold blonde of his identity.

"Who are you? And how did you get here?"

The blonde didn't respond as his gaze became sharper.

"Silence will earn you death. Especially since you witnessed what happened here."

The cold killer responded as his eyes transformed into the **Mangekyo Sharingan**. Naruto saw this and **shunpo'd **out of the way. Itachi was surprised once more at the speed of this young blonde that he could not keep up with his eyes alone. But thanks to his experience in combat, Itachi leaped back and took only a slight horizontal slash to his back. It was deep, but not deep enough to severely damage the spine. Itachi then turned around only to get another pair of slashes. The first was directed to his head which he barely escaped from as a horizontal scratch mark appeared across the metal plate of his hitai-ate. The second slash however made its mark as the swing from right going left, cut through his armor and had lacerated his belly. At the same instant in one flow, Naruto used the momentum of his swing and made a spinning back left kick towards the open wound in Itachi's solar plexus. The cold killer flew past the doors as he fell on the wooden walkway with his own blood causing him to slip as he fell prone on the floor. The wound that Itachi exacted upon his father was exacted upon him as he felt the wound worsen from the kick. If the battle dragged on any longer, he wouldn't be able to live to fight another day.

The dying couple was astounded at what invisible force could've caused such damage upon their murderer of a son. Fugaku Uchiha, the father of the murdering son, activated his Kekkei Genkai as well and saw the back of the blonde youth standing in front of him.

'_How could I have not seen him? Is it a genjutsu? How could someone of such an age be on par…no better than Itachi?'_

While the confused father and his wife tried to rationalize the situation, Naruto outstretched his left hand indicating them not to move lest they be unable to cheat death this time. Itachi leaped from prone position and threw several shuriken at them and shouted,

"**Kage Shuriken no jutsu!**"

The shuriken multiplied into two dozen as they flew at the three people to end their lives. Naruto then swung his steel and deflected the several kunai save for two which managed to evade his defense. The young blonde quickly dropped his zanpakuto and **shunpo'd** and caught the two shurikens in midair just before they hit the dying couple. The unfaltering young blonde dropped the blades of death and stormed out of the room while picking up his zanpakuto on the way just in time for Itachi to leap into the air. The young blonde threw his steel like a javelin at the raven haired youth with a low loose ponytail. It hit dead on as the sound of steel piercing flesh was heard to the ears of the three people in that area.

However, the body of the wounded teen did not fall into the ground below. Instead, it flew into different directions as each part became ravens that flew into the air before transforming in to kunai that homed in on the young blonde. Naruto saw this turn of events and spoke for the first time throughout the battle.

"Kai!"

The several homing blurs of black blades, disappeared as the genjutsu faded. Naruto then raised his right hand and in an instant, his zanpakuto materialized in it as he sheathed it once more. He then turned around and approached the dying couple. Thankful for saving their fleeting lives, Mikoto Uchiha, the mother of her murdering son, then said in relief,

"Arigato for saving us from—"

"Don't speak."

The young blonde said interrupting her from thanking him as he kneeled down in front of them. He then raised his left hand and concentrated a pulsating green chakra coat to flow over it as he began mending their wounds.

"I'm not very skilled in medical ninjutsu, but I do know how to do basic treatment with it. This should slow your wounds down so that you can at least make it to the hospital for better treatment so try to conserve your energy."

After his brief reply, the young blonde then took out some bandages and wrapped their wounds. It wasn't much, but it should be enough to keep them alive long enough to get more professional help.

Before they could ask the identity of the blonde, he had already blurred out of existence.

Naruto made his way towards his lifeless body and re-entered it. The unfaltering young blonde ran out of the tree he was perched in and towards the main Uchiha house. The wounded couple huddled together as they waited in vain for help to arrive. It was a time of despair as the thought that their own son would come after their lives. As they cried tears of sadness a small voice could be heard as little footsteps ran back and forth through the entire house.

"HELLO! IS ANYBODY THERE! IS ANYONE STILL ALIVE! PLEASE ANSWER ME!"

It wasn't the sound of their youngest son since it was too early for him to arrive from school. They wondered who could that be wandering off into the compound and seeing a carnage in the entire Uchiha complex? Their questions were answered as they saw a young blonde boy staring at them in shock. The blonde boy then hollered at them,

"Are you alright?"

Fugaku sighed in relief before he answered,

"Yes we are. Please get help here right away!"

The young blonde nodded as he quickly ran out of the Uchiha complex and back into the streets of Konoha as he searched for help.

**Nice acting gaki. Too bad we couldn't get Itachi without saving them both. It's not easy killing two birds with one stone. At least he's not going to be able to do anything thanks to his wounds.**

The triumphant fox growled in the young blonde's mind as Naruto kept screaming for help. Just when all hope was lost and he needed to take drastic measures, he noticed a familiar jounin with his nose in an infamous orange book. Naruto's face brightened up as he recognized his old team leader and jounin-sensei Kakashi. Despite how much he wanted to talk to the familiar friend, lives were at stake and this was the only way that he could save them.

'_Thank Kami-sama that it's Kakashi-sensei who was around here at this time.'_

The young blonde thought to himself before he began shouting at the one-eyed jounin.

"Help me mister! Please help!"

Naruto innocently screamed while tears formed on his eyes. Kakashi left his book reading as he saw the young blonde approach him.

'_That's the vessel of the Kyuubi. He probably got chased by the angry mob of villagers again.'_

The one-eyed jounin mentally said as he kneeled down to the eye level of Naruto and asked,

"What's wrong? Did you get hurt?"

The crying blonde then said while still sobbing,

"I accidentally got lost into a strange place with a fan emblem everywhere and saw blood all over the streets and dead people. When I looked further to see if there was anyone still alive, I saw two people bleeding but still alive."

It didn't take very long for Kakashi and the young blonde to locate the wounded couple and take them to the hospital for treatment. After hours of waiting by the emergency room, the double doors opened up revealing Kakashi who stepped out and approached the young blonde.

"Don't worry about them. They're fine now. They're very lucky that you came to search for them. If you hadn't found them, they would have died of their wounds. That was pretty brave of you."

Naruto grinned knowing that somehow, his mission was a success. Though he wasn't able to save all of them, he did save Sasuke's precious people at the very least. And speaking of the raven haired boy, he managed to push his way through the several doctors and nurses until he got close to the emergency room and began shouting,

"Okaa-san! Otou-san!"

Both Kakashi and Naruto looked at him as they stood in front of the young Uchiha. Kakashi then put his hands upon the raven haired boy's shoulders and comforted him.

"Don't worry. Your parents are fine. You should thank this boy over here. He found them before they could pass on. Come to think of it, I didn't quite get your name."

Kakashi said as he looked over at the young blonde. Naruto then scratched his head and grinned as he said,

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you. You must be Sasuke. Everyone talks about you back at the academy."

Kakashi then said to the blonde,

"So you're enrolled in the academy. With your display of heroics today, you'll make a great shinobi someday Naruto."

Naruto blushed at the praise he got from his future jounin sensei. Sasuke looked at the young blonde who saved his parents' life and smiled at him. The moment the raven haired boy smiled, Naruto's eyes widened.

It was the first time he ever saw Sasuke give a genuine smile. Usually the smiles that Sasuke showed were cynical ones and wicked ones. Never has the raven haired boy ever shone a smile as genuine and happy as the young boy right here. As Naruto snapped out of his stupor, he was able to hear something uttered from the lips of the raven haired boy that was even more genuine than his smile.

"Arigato gozaimashta Naruto-kun."

Naruto could not believe what he heard from this young Uchiha who was an avenger in his future. It was odd hearing this. But the moment he heard this sentence of thankfulness with a tear that went with it, Naruto knew that his first mission was a success.

'_I may not have been able to save everyone, but at least I was able to save the most precious people to me. I won't give up so that I can see more smiles like those appear on people's faces. I don't know if I completely changed Sasuke, but it's a start!'_

Thought the young blonde as he smiled back and said,

"No problem Sasuke. I'm sorry that many of your family died, but at least your parents are still alive."

The still sobbing Sasuke then nodded. Kakashi then cleared his throat to grab their attention as he said,

"I'm going to report this incident to the Hokage so I'll need you two to come with me and explain much of what went on here."

The two boys nodded and followed the one eyed jounin out of the hospital. Though Naruto received many death glares at him, he never paid attention or flinched. However, Sasuke and Kakashi did notice the many glares that followed the young blonde around. To Sasuke, it was puzzling at why they all looked at the person who saved his parents' lives with such hate and disgust. To Kakashi however, it was a painful reminder of the many hearts who could not accept the death of their loved ones at the paws, claws and teeth that tore those precious people away from them never to return among the living. The stalwart jounin gave his own set of death glares to those who gazed at Naruto wrongly in protection of the young blonde.

Eventually, the trio made their way to the Hokage tower. The two guards that stood in front of the Hokage's office made way as Kakashi told them 'it was important business concering the Uchiha massacre that occurred'. As they entered the double doors of the Hokage's office, Naruto then said to the old man behind the paper stacked desk,

"How's it going oji-san!"

Kakashi just sweatdropped at the way Naruto just insulted the Hokage. No one had the right to insult him and get away with that. But the kind, old warrior just smiled as he said,

"Hello Naruto. And what brings you to my office this late?"

Naruto was ecstatic that he could see the old man again. Hopefully, he'll be here to save him this time from a third death. As nostalgia fed the young blonde's mind, Kakashi then made his account to the sandaime as they began to talk about the Uchiha massacre. Though not completely stopped, four remaining Uchihas, including the killer, had survived the tragedy. Sasuke desperately tried to hold back his tears as sadness surged through his body. Naruto knew that he would still be devastated, and it would still be hard to keep Sasuke on the right path, but at least he has a crying shoulder this time to lean on.

When the account was made as Naruto and Sasuke gave their testimonies, Sarutobi begun to feel sympathy for the poor boy that had to witness death at such an age. Then again, it was a massacre making it worse. Even though he was enrolled in the ninja academy where he would be trained to eventually face missions with scenarios like this, He was still a pure and innocent child. Unknowingly to them however, Naruto had experienced worse than this. He had first hand experience of war and killing and the many deaths of his comrades. It was an awful thing, but he went through it. The sandaime then ordered his guards that waited outside.

"Hait Hokage-sama!"

The guard asked the old warrior who then replied,

"Send a squad of ANBU to protect the parents of the young Sasuke here who are in the hospital. We don't want the killer to finish what he started. And I want Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi to question them in the morning. We need to find that killer."

"Hait!"

The guards replied as they **shunsined **out of the room. Sarutobi then sighed in relief as he said,

"Well now that that's been taken cared of, Kakashi, can you make sure the boys get home safely? I fear that our attacker might come looking for them."

Kakashi just nodded in acknowledgement. Naruto protested saying that he wouldn't want to be a burden to them and can go home himself. Sasuke on the other hand was worried as to where he would stay for the night since his parents are still in the hospital.

"Don't worry about a thing Sasuke. You can stay in my place for the night."

Kakashi said to the raven haired boy. Sasuke accepted his proposal but wondered about Naruto and where was he going home to.

"Don't worry about me either Sasuke. I have my own place to live in. I'll be headed off now, Ja ne!"

The young blonde said as he left the office. Sarutobi then smiled at the happy-go-lucky nature of the blonde despite the events of that night.

'_Naruto…despite the pain and suffering that this village has put you through, you've still retained that purity and blamelessness in your heart. And this afternoon's events have proven that. I hope that you continue to do so in the future.'_

The old Hokage thought as he saw the young blonde exit the office ahead of Kakashi and Sasuke.

While the young blonde made his way towards his apartment, his stomach grumbled in distress. He was hungry. Luckily for him, he was just a stone's throw away from Ichiraku Ramen. The young blonde routinely marched in the ramen stand and greeted the old man and his daughter.

"Yo! Oji-san, twelve bowls of miso ramen and keep em' coming!"

The excited blonde exclaimed as his tummy grumbled even further. This put a slight blush on the blonde's face as Ayame chuckled and said,

"We're pretty hungry tonight now aren't we?"

Naruto just nodded as he replied,

"Yup! Training can be really tiring!"

After Naruto ate his fill, he thanked the two and paid the bill and went his way. It was an exciting day as the young blonde's clone finally dispersed and he received all the information that happened that day.

A blush appeared on the young blonde's face as he remembered what the clone had done with Hinata. He was glad that his clone didn't make any unnecessary moves to the girl he loved. He wanted to do things the right way by first building the friendship he never had with her in his past life and future. He wanted to make sure that his friendship with her stayed steady and strong so that when the time was right, it wouldn't be any problem at all. However, there was still the problem about him being a jinchuuriki so that in it would make things shaky. But there was still much time before that could happen.

As the young blonde walked through the familiar street to his apartment, he quickly hid behind one of the wooden walls by the corner. It was a good thing that Naruto's senses have heightened or he would've been beaten to death once again by the angry mob that raided his apartment.

'_Why now? And by the looks on their faces, they're not here to just use me as a punching bag.'_

The young blonde mentally said as he glimpsed at the several weapon wielding villagers that begun to destroy and vandalize his apartment as several furniture were thrown out and torn to shreds by the hungry lions that fed on it below as the mob begun to rejoice and shout words like, 'this is for the Uchiha that you killed' or his all time favorite, 'die demon bastard'.

The young blonde's tenant then told the blonde,

**Somehow the rumors went out that you entered the Uchiha complex and they're exacting 'revenge for every Uchiha that you killed'. Quite a pity how low they would go to exact pain for their pain. You'd best high tail out of here unless you want to be used as a human pin cushion.**

Naruto had no choice but to temporarily leave the village in order to escape their wrath. Hopefully, it would be only for tonight. Otherwise, he would be living off the land like so many shinobi on patrol in the forest. The young blonde darted in and out the same way he normally did that morning as he masked his presence once more. He stealthily evaded every single villager that was out looking for him as they hunted him down. Naruto managed to evade capture as he leaped over the walls of Konoha and into the forest below. It was all done without breaking a sweat or getting winded in the tiniest bit.

When the young blonde finally fully evaded his captors, he then sat down by a large tree as the sounds of the forest echoed in harmony. The music of the forest floor and silence of the night sky filled the air with serenity that you would not find in the city. Peacefulness without worry was the only way to describe the feeling.

As the peace and serenity of the night caressed the young blonde's tired state, Naruto delved into his mindscape as he stood face to face with his tenant who sat in its cage.

"Hey Kyuubi! Do you think you can teach me now how to merge with my soul's affinity?"

The crimson eyed fox glared into the flaming azure eyes of his master after the sudden request that he made.

**I told you tomorrow. Things like that should not be rushed. Get some shut eye. Besides, you might not be able to return to your human form if you do.**

The annoyed fox said to the determined blonde. But the look on the blonde's face said that he wasn't going to budge until he was taught. The kyuubi knew his intentions and said,

**Look, your soul's affinity is nothing like your elemental nature which I might add is starting to slowly return to your complete control. The affinity of the soul is the power of change. If you're physical elemental nature is wind because it reflects your personality, your spiritual affinity might be something completely different like earth because it is the nature you can become. Am I making myself clear gaki?**

The young blonde nodded at his statement. But he still didn't wish to let go and said,

"Even if that's true, I need it to be able to hide out in Konoha. I can't live in the forests all my life. If I can merge with my spiritual affinity, then I can become stronger and hide out at the same time!"

The Kyuubi smacked his head on the large bars of the cage that held him and said,

**Gaki, you're missing the point here. This is only temporary. They'll go away after. You don't have to take such drastic measures.**

The young blonde however did not accept that because he knows how much he is hated in the village that he wishes to protect. His tenant however had no interest with the village of Konoha. But if his master was hell bent on the protection of the village, he had no choice but to follow. The kyuubi resigned to his fate and said,

**Fine gaki. You want to know it so badly?! Then get your ass out of here and I'll instruct you.**

Naruto returned back towards the real world as he gazed upon the quite plain of the forest while the towering trees watched over the young blonde and the creatures of the night.

The young blonde then stood up from his seat in the soft blanket of grass and listen intently to his tenant's every word.

**In order to merge with your soul's affinity, you must master chakra and reiatsu control. Your soul has done both and because you have a body now, your in harmony to do it. Make sure you get this right. You must first enter your mindscape the way you did with your bankai and find the perfect balance between your soul and body. Unlike your bankai, the harmony must be your own and not ours. Find it deep within your heart and find the one thing that changes you. Find it and become it. That is the key to your soul's affinity.**

Naruto then did as he was instructed and delved deep into his mindscape. From the same universal background where the folded scales stood, he walked past them and moved along further into the never ending galaxy. After hours of travel, he had come upon a dark door. It reeked of suffering as you could feel the pain that emanated from it. It was filled with swirls of emotions dictating to the young blonde that it was his heart. He took a deep breath, and opened the door as he entered it.

The moment he entered the door, he was thrown into a mountaintop with maelstroms of wind and gusts as tornadoes flowed all over. The young blonde was about to be torn apart by the heavy zephyrs that sliced his body. For every cut he received from the streaming winds, he felt the pain he received in his heart from the memory it came with it. The stream of painful memories ran through his mind and struck his heart as he remembered all those times he was beaten, laughed at, ignored, cursed, spit at, used, abused, cheated on, and many more as it came back and brought tears to his eyes. The young blonde felt like he was losing sight of his goal as his resolve died down further in the wind.

'_I don't get this at all! Kuso! What the hell did my stupidity get me into this time!'_

The young blonde mentally screamed. Good thing for him, his thoughts were heard by his tenant who screamed back at him.

**Bakero! This is why I told you to wait! If you allow your environment to consume you, you will end up like me! If these terrible winds are what hinder you then rise above it! Now GO! PROVE TO YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE THE STRONGER THAN THIS!**

Naruto took his fiery tenant's words to heart and began climbing past the terrible winds. As the maelstrom grew harsher and harsher, Naruto's body grew weaker and weaker. He was reaching his limits.

"This is my limit. I guess this is why it's so hard to change and become something else. Your environment here in this place is the inner reflection of your personality and its flaws. But I mustn't. I need…to…rise above…this…or…else….everything I worked hard for…."

He said as he began to climb while his reasons for fighting and his resolve slowly began to return.

"Everyone I want to protect….everyone that's counting on me and put their faith in me…everyone who has sacrificed for me…No! I will not give up! For them! For me! FOR HINATA! Because if I am worth it for them…"

The young blonde then reached the top and stood firm as the winds began to concentrate and form an enormous twister that engulfed the mountaintop where stood.

"THEN THEY ARE WORTH IT FOR ME!"

Naruto then jumped as high as he could through the eye of the storm. As he rised higher and higher, his body slowly shined brighter and brighter. Soon crackling sounds began to form around the blonde. As the crackling sounds became louder, it began to materialize as the blonde's body began to rematerialize into electricity as his flaming azure eyes burned into a bright cyan. The blonde's eyes where all that were left as the rest of his body became a bolt of lightning until he saw the azure sky past the storm and woke up back in the forest floor.

As he looked around, he noticed that he wasn't on eye level with the trees. In fact, everything seemed to have gotten bigger. Kyuubi then spoke to the blonde in amusement.

**Gaki, there's a river that runs through the wall. Look at yourself there.**

Naruto then did so. Unusually to him, he was moving as if he was on all fours. What has become of him? The young blonde then hurried to the river and was astonished at what he saw. He had become a white fox with azure eyes and three swishing tails.

"WHAT THE HELL!!! THIS IS MY SOUL'S AFFINITY?!"

The young blonde screamed. Amazingly, he could still speak normally. This was unexpected in every sense. Kyuubi just laughed as he rolled around in his cage.

'_WHAT'S SO FUNNY YOU STUPID FOX?!!!'_

**Which one gaki? You or me?**

The sly kitsune said as he corrected his now foxy master. Naruto began to mentally curse his tenant until the Kyuubi calmed down and explained.

**To be honest, I was expecting something like a lion or tiger. But a fox…and a white one to boot! This is really unexpected.**

The young white kitsune then thought,

'_So being an animal like this…I get it now. Well, at least I have a lot of reasons to love our kind now.'_

The kyuubi then nodded and replied.

**Being one with your soul's affinity means you take on the personality change and it materializes in your physical body. Mine was incomplete since I couldn't rise above my own flaws and forever remained stuck in the form everyone 'loves'. **

The white mane kitsune understood and asked of his tenant.

'_So being in this form is my own success from my flaws. What does this all mean? It should symbolize something right?'_

The sly fox then replied as his white mane kitsune listened.

**It does. Though it is complete, you won't be able to use this form's true power since you haven't mastered chakra and reiatsu control in your physical body. But I can tell you that it holds many symbols. The Kitsune symbolizes intelligence and cunning. It is normally a fire born creature which is another reason its mane is usually red or orange. This also means most kitsunes are temperamental and emotional creatures. A kitsune's tail represents his attained level of wisdom. After at least one thousand years of living, it can grow another and then the tails after that come with experience. The limit for fox tails is nine. Your transformation however, says differently. True you're a fox which means you are intelligent and cunning, but your blue eyes show that you are noble and compassionate. Your white fur means that you are forever pure at heart and detached from earthly things. If your eyes were green instead of blue, your soul's element would be wind like your nature. But your eyes are blue meaning it's the other detached element known as lightning. And your three tails means you have wisdom beyond your years. It's all quite contrary to your current personality.**

Naruto drank in to all of this as he tried hard to realize that this was him. Kyuubi was right that his soul's affinity was a complete contrast to his current personality. Sure he still remained pure at heart, but everything else didn't add up to the blonde. But still, he had to accept that this is what he can become. So he then said to himself for him to remember,

"I guess I have to accept that I can become this even in my human form right? This transformation is merely a mirror so I can see what I can become."

With that the young kitsune accepted his fate. Although it felt different from having a human body, he decided to test it out. At first he couldn't climb up the wall let alone use chakra or reiatsu. Frustration began to form in the kitsune's mind until like a light bulb, he had an idea. He began to twist his three tails together in a fashion that they would continually turn. The idea worked and he was a miniature helicopter like the ones he saw once in Tokyo. He used this idea well and landed on a house not too far away. It still wasn't safe to go back to his apartment, so he decided to go somewhere else. He then bolted his way through the streets of Konoha and elusively went through every nook and cranny like the cats did back in his genin days when he would rescue the daimyo's cat. Eventually, he stopped and walked around in what seemed to be a backyard of some sort of an old Japanese traditional house.

'_I must have accidentally gotten here when I wasn't paying much attention. But I feel like I've seen this place before.'_

The young white mane kitsune mentally said as he snuck into the large traditional house through a small opening in the window. Before he stepped into the floor of the room he was in, he hooked his three tails to the window frame as he surveyed the room.

It was a large kitchen with complete set off cooking appliances and a half open refrigerator indicating that someone is here. It was a good thing that he didn't leap in right away since it would be a long run to the exit. As the white mane kitsune gracefully yet silently dropped to the floor, he noticed two feet at the edge of the fridge noting that the person still raiding that man sized ice block was only a child. He then curiously but cautiously approached the refrigerator.

When the person stepped out of the refrigerator, he was shocked to see who it was.

"Oh! How did you get in here? Are you hungry?"

The lavender eyed girl asked. It was Hinata. As Naruto quickly put two and two together, he realized that he was in Hinata's home. The startled kitsune began to back up in fear as Naruto mentally blushed. The lavender eyed Hyuga however was happy to see a friend in the midst of her cold shouldered family. She wore a pure white yukata and no undergarments which made our azure eyed hero mentally fluster as she paced towards his kitsune form.

"Don't worry, I won't bite."

The now not so shy Hinata said as she kneeled over and began to pet him. Naruto never understood why animals like being pet. But now he fully understood as he enjoyed her warm and soft hands brush his ivory colored fur and caressed behind his ears. It was a strange feeling, yet he felt great whenever she did that. The white mane kitsune began to sway his three tails in elation as he purred indicating his ecstatic state. He ravished her hand as he began to caress his body around her soft palms before curling into a ball.

Hinata chuckled softly so as not to wake her sleeping family as she picked him up and said,

"Well Mr. Fox, as much as I want you to live here with me, I can't. The Hyuga doesn't allow pets in the compound. But you can stay for the night. Come, I'll take you to my room."

Naruto mentally screamed to himself,

'_WHAT?! WAIT! HINATA'S ROOM?!'_

When the lavender eyed girl brought him into her quarters, he mentally flustered crimson as he saw that he was in the very room of the girl he loved. She had a dresser by the corner with a mirror on the wall. Alongside the other corner was her wide opened drawer where her clothing was slightly ruffled and several drops of water on the floor beside it implying that she had just taken a bath. And in the middle of her room lay a man sized futon.

As the white mane kitsune leaped off her arms were he cradled, he could smell the scent of the room. It was the scent of the Konoha Fire Lily. The same irresistible scent that kept him cradled in her arms as the kind Hinata sat down on her bed and spoke to her foxy friend.

"You know Mr. Fox, you're pretty strange. I've never seen how you got in here or that there where any white kitsunes in Konoha with three tails."

The thinking Hinata said as she looked at the white mane kitsune with a curious but puzzled face.

'_Shit! I've been found out! This is bad, wait. Calm down, you're a kitsune. So start acting like one.'_

The white mane kitsune then purred as he ran up to Hinata's right shoulder and began to tickle her face with his three tails. Naruto hasn't been this close to her face since the incident in the phoenix seal. She was a beautiful woman that he would gladly give his life for. But for now, she was still a child. The white mane kitsune mentally blushed once more as he drank in her fragrance and ravished in her beauty. Hinata began to laugh lightly as she protested and cradled the young fox in her arms.

"But then again, I haven't been outside Konoha so I don't know much about its wildlife."

Naruto sat there as he listened to her converse to him while he lay in her arms.

"I had a great day today Mr. Fox. I got to talk with Naruto-kun today. He ate his sandwiches with me and we got properly introduced to each other. Naruto-kun is a real gentleman. Then again, he always was. He also said that he was willing to talk to me if ever I need a friend to talk to."

The young girl said as a blush began to form on her face. Naruto just drowned in her words as he saw her beauty emanate through the moonlight from the window at her left side. How could he have missed this elegant beauty all those years? His density during his younger years had blinded him from the love of this beautiful girl all those years. As he quietly listened, his mental blush grew wider and wider as he soaked himself in her loveliness.

"Naruto-kun has never shared his food with anyone. Maybe he has a crush on me."

A smile crossed her face at that thought until she continued.

"No, that can't be right. He loves Sakura-san. But I can understand why he does. She's so brave and open and strong willed and He's so confident and strong despite what everyone says about him. He pursues his dreams and never gives up and he's so kind and gentle. They're everything I'm not. There's no way it can be true. There's no way that I can be like Sakura-san."

She said as a downcast look dawned on her face. How he longed to comfort her. But not like this. He was in his kitsune form so he could only be there and listen to her as she opened up to him.

"I really wish I was as confident as Sakura-san so that I can talk to him more and be with him more and become more open to him. I really love him but I'm not sure if he loves me too…What am I saying? I'm giving up too easily. I shouldn't give up. Naruto doesn't give up on his dreams so why should I give up too? But what if he still goes after Sakura-san? It's no good Mr. Fox, whenever I think about this, I feel like I'll never be better than her and gain his attention."

Her thoughts were jumbled up but one thing was clear, she was struggling hard with herself. She wanted him but felt like she didn't deserve him. Naruto felt that way as well all throughout his stay in Sereitei so he understood. The kitsune couldn't take it anymore as he leaped of her lap and took a sheet of paper and a pen from on top of her drawer and used his tail to write on it. Hinata was surprised at the dexterity the kitsune showed as his tail grasped the pen and gracefully wrote on the paper. When the kitsune finished, she was shocked even further at the intelligence of the fox when she saw what the fox wrote.

Stop being better than her and be better than yourself.

The kitsune then looked at her shocked state and nodded. Hinata smiled as she pet him and said,

"We learned that kitsunes are smart animals in the shinobi academy. But they never told us that they were this smart. But you're right Mr. Fox. Thank you for listening. I'll just do that."

Naruto curled once again into a ball as they both fell into slumber.

'_The mission was a success. I averted the complete massacre of the Uchihas somehow, and avoided suspicion from school, and boosted her confidence at least a little bit. But I still have my work cut out for me. I need to train harder so I can protect Konoha more…so I can protect her more…at least it I didn't mess up completely this time in my return to Konoha.'_

And like that, the first day ended in silence as the kitsune slumbered beside the love of his life.

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Everything feels so jumbled up. But at least it's done. Konoha Arc begins here. I intended not to add too much NaruHina scenes here because it's the first day of his return. The next one will have a lot I can guarantee that. Technically, he did save the Uchiha clan since he did manage to spare Sasuke's mother and father while at the same time befriending Sasuke. This is a very long chapter for me. But I like pushing the limit. I just hope it doesn't kill a lot of important parts. Till next time, Ja ne!


	12. Shadow of a Fox

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews. I really appreciate all your comments and it brings much fire to my heart as a writer. This chapter will have fluff but don't expect immediate romance. They're six years old for crying out loud! Well, Hinata is at least. Sorry for the huge delay. I was watching Ai Yori Aoshi for some ideas on how to do this chapter. Fluff without much romance involved can be hard to do. But it's a challenge that I took to heart as I wrote this chapter. Hope you enjoy my work.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 12**

_**Shadow of a Fox**_

As the dawn raised its head…

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A faint cold, and crisp air lightly swept over Konohagakure as the universe shifted from the blackened sky of the night towards the sunny morning that was soon arising. The blanket of sleep that encased the village in its clutches kept the residents from awakening to the sounds of morning until the first light pierced through and kindled the fire in their bodies to awaken from a long night of peace and tranquility.

As the azure sky took warmly greeted the residents to start their new day, some residents resisted the light of morning as dawn was too troublesome for them to attend to despite some of which had great responsibilities to accomplish. One such person was our white mane kitsune still cuddled closely to his love. The young kitsune had stayed all night long with the Hyuga heiress to listen and comfort the young girl in anyway he could without losing his cover.

The young kitsune could feel the warm sensations of morning stream down from the window in Hinata's room. Unknowingly to him, he reflexively curled up to the young girl's chest in resistance to the awakening sensation of daylight.

'_Not now sun, I want to spend more time like this with Hinata-chan.'_

However, the daylight of dawn forbade him from returning to his peaceful rest as a new day awakened the blonde from his quiet slumber. The white mane kitsune opened his flaming azure eyes and saw the gleaming figure of his sleeping maiden curled up in her bed as the sun danced along her pale skin and dark blue hair.

'_She's beautiful…I really am lucky to have her. All this time she actually had feelings for me. I really am an idiot to have not noticed this. I just hope I can return her love.'_

The young kitsune thought as he gazed upon her slumbering form. Even now, he could see her body maturing rather quickly for her age. Most likely, it is the fruits of her training and her lifestyle in general. But despite how irresistibly beautiful she is, he needed to leave. It was difficult to escape since she had a firm grip upon one of his three tails. He struggled and comically managed to evade being gripped once more as he made a **Kawarimi** with the pillow next to him.

'_So I can do __**Kawarimi**__ with this form. I wonder what else I can pull off…'_

Like a thief in the night, with graceful agility, he leaped through the very window in her room and exited the Hyuga mansion. Luckily for him it was dawn so not many would notice the white kitsune that roamed the streets of Konoha. He was fascinated with seeing from a kitsune's point of view of the world. It was far better seeing with these eyes than his human ones since now he could see as sharp as an eagle and in perfect detail as well. From the street behind the Hyuga mansion, he leaped upon the wooden walls and upon the telephone lines.

'_I thought this would be hard without chakra but it's a lot easier than it looks!'_

Naruto happily strolled through as he walked upon the telephone lines and leaped from rooftop to rooftop. It was rather easy for him to perform these feats of agility since his new form was built for such things. As he wondered how he was capable of performing these feats, his tenant, Kyuubi, decided to intrude his mind.

**So, do you like the new body?**

The young blonde then answered.

'_I never imagined how to live as a kitsune and see things from your point of view. It's really fascinating.'_

His tenant then chuckled and replied.

**As a kitsune, your senses become sharpened and your body fits to a more agile form. Your brain capacity and intelligence enlarges. At first you were not able to use your chakra or reiatsu because of the new form as well as the fact that this form continually uses chakra and reiatsu. The amount of usage is not much, but it is a hindrance at first. Over time you will get used to the constant use that it becomes second nature to you. Right now that's not possible but eventually, your control over your chakra and reiatsu reserves will come back allowing you to perform your jutsus or kido even in this form.**

The young blonde thought hard as he pondered upon his tenant's words. True enough, he could feel his chakra and reiatsu flow through his veins as it began to slowly build up in his system. When he finally understood his tenant's words, he then asked,

'_So how long do I stay in this form?'_

**Since you did things the right way, it's easy to switch between your soul's affinity and your regular body. If you wish to return to your regular body shape, then stop the flow of chakra and reiatsu in your body.**

The white kitsune nodded as he leaped upon the building just in front of his apartment window. He then sniffed the air and sighed as he smelled the scent of ash and soot seep out from his apartment. He didn't bother to go back and salvage what remained since he knew that the intense smell of burnt rubble coupled with last night's uproar meant that he had no place to rest his head.

'_It looks like changing the past costs something in exchange. No matter. But now that the black notebook is all I have left, I'm out of options. Is there any other place I can live where I can train in peace and never be found out at least by the villagers?'_

The white mane kitsune was right though. If he needed to train uninterrupted, he needed a place far from prying eyes so he can save his future. As he scoured through his memories of past and future, he was struck like a lightning bolt with an idea as the memory that spawned it played in his mind. He then turned around from his position and dashed along the streets as the burning daylight of sunrise pierced through the sky.

'_Just a little bit further and I'll get there. I never thought that I could end up living in such a place. But what choice do I have? Besides, living off the land is part of training as well.'_

The young blonde's thoughts were all directed towards the very place where he would go through in several years after. As he ended his nostalgia of the memory, he arrived at the very area he would enter to take the dreaded chunnin exams, the forest of death.

It wasn't the coziest of places, but at the very least, he could live in peace and harmony with nature. It wasn't unusual for strange animals to be living there, so it was perfect for him to hide out in if ever he is discovered in his kitsune form. Another good reason for living here would be that he could train himself and no one would dare bother him while he was here because of the many dangerous residents that thrived in this vast vegetation of treacherous land and trees.

**Until we find the keys to your father's house, this will be our home?!**

The Kyuubi growled at his master at the sight and smell of the deathly silent forest. Naruto understood where his tenant was getting at and responded to the fiery kitsune's protest.

'_Get used to it because we'll need a place that is perfect for all our training needs. No one will dare enter here without extra precaution because of the dangerous plants and animals that live here. Either we live here or end up bleeding near a dumpster every single day.'_

His tenant agreed since it would give him too much problems having to heal his bruised and battered body all the time. Of course, it was highly unlikely since Naruto was smart and strong enough to evade those events of his life. The white mane kitsune made his way through the blanket of grass and the colossal trees towering over the many animals that lived within the forest. Naruto dashed onward whilst evading the many man-eating plants and predators that hid within the bushes and tree branches waiting to lay waste upon their helpless victims. The white mane kitsune took note of everything he passed by with his senses on overdrive to process all the sensations that came across the blonde.

He dashed along for some time until he finally halted at a large tree by the tower in the center of the forest. It was an old tree that stood taller than the tower itself. As the tree stood in attention, Naruto noticed that it wasn't far away from a riverside that ran straight through the middle. Another thing about the tree was the way the roots grew. It was intriguing the way the tree formed and the way the roots sprouted out. One of the roots was spread out in a way for a small hole for Naruto in his human form to crawl underneath. The white mane kitsune entered the mini cave and was surprised to see what was inside.

The center of the tree was hollow as the light of the sun beamed down the center. The center however wasn't completely bright because of the several outcroppings that webbed around and through the center of the tree. It was then that it hit the young kitsune. It wasn't a tree in itself but a bunch of trees that merged together as one whole tree. The amazed kitsune walked through the architectural marvel of nature and was satisfied with the way the trees merged together. It was perfect.

"Looks like this will be our new home for now. We better get started eh Kyuubi?"

The kitsune said to his tenant as he transformed back into the young six year old blonde. Naruto then stretched his limbs feeling great to be back in his old body. After getting himself warmed up from the stretching exercises, he then began the chakra and reiatsu control exercises that his father and mother have taught him.

The young blonde had accomplished a major part in the past but he still needed to get his body used to his chakra and reiatsu in time for him to make it to the chuunin exams. If the seal on Byakko fades, then who knows what he would have to face as the aftermath. Naruto was determined to create a future worth living and dying for.

The entire morning through afternoon, he practiced tree walking first with chakra, then with reiatsu. It was tiring, but he had six years to perfect it until he got a full grip upon his chakra and reiatsu flow. By the time he was twelve, he would have all of his abilities back and more because of his future self and Kyuubi's future self merging with their past selves. It would be hard to for him to completely have control, but at the very least, he would be more capable at doing his techniques than during his past life.

**Gaki, your control is getting better rather quickly. If you keep this up, we may be able to begin fusion techniques once more after three years.**

The amused fox said to the young blonde as Naruto lay in the middle of the hollow tree, sweating profusely from the heat of the sun that began to fade in the afternoon. He was tired, but relieved knowing that his control was slowing returning to his grip because of the intense training he received from his family and his self-disciplined attitude towards it. If what his tenant said was true, then he would be able to better prepare for any attack upon Konoha and have at least a fighting chance against the elemental gods.

The young blonde's heart returned to its normal pace after a few minutes of rest. Though he was physically exhausted from the endeavor, his stamina was still as high as ever.

Naruto then sat back up and looked at his sweat stained clothing. He frowned at the only remaining clothes left from the fire. It was the only set left and it would be long before he would be able to buy a whole wardrobe of clothing for him to wear. The young blonde then pouted as he crossed his two arms in contempt.

"This is just great! Now what do I do about clothing. Although oji-san is kind enough to provide me with money every now and then, it would take a long time before I can gain enough to buy myself a good set that they won't overprice me for."

The dilemma set in until his tenant grinned and said,

**You know gaki, the outskirts of Konoha have many bandits who carry stolen goods. As well as enemy shinobi who wish to enter Konoha.**

The young blonde made a foxy grin as he delighted at the answer of his tenant.

"So if some unlucky bandit or enemy shinobi somehow gets 'lost' in the forest, who knows what could happen to him because of the various wildlife that thrives in it?"

The young blonde said as he agreed with his devious partner in crime. It was the only way he could gain the extra money he needed to buy himself a good pair of clothing or at the very least, scavenge the remains of the 'unfortunate soul'.

The young blonde then crawled out the way he came, and headed back for the village.

When it came to food and living space, the forest was plentiful with those resources so he didn't need to visit the village every so often. But when it came to jutsus and information, Konoha and enemy shinobi were plentiful in those terms. Naruto knew very well that his mission was all based upon information from the future and so he needed to plan ahead for Konoha's defense against the invasion plot by Otogakure and Sunagakure. Currently, he needed to assess Konoha's overall strength to see why and how the village succumbed to its near defeat. Another thing he needed to do was make sure that Sasuke was on the right path. Though he saved his parents at the very least, it won't be enough since he still lost many friends and family members to his brother which makes another dilemma—Akatsuki.

Though he knew not what the criminal organizations intentions were, he understood that they were after the lives of many jinchuurikis all for the sake of their cause. As a fellow jinchuuriki himself, he needed to put an end to their cause. All this however were just but mere shadows that pale in comparison to the haunting darkness of the release of the elemental gods.

The young blonde pondered upon all these things as he made his reconnaissance of the village from the top of the Hokage monument, to the lowliest of rats that lingered in the streets. His stealth was on ANBU level as he managed to completely mask his presence from shinobi of all ages and ranks. He came in like a wisp and left no trace as he exited. He leaped from building to building as he moved back and forth throughout the entire village.

As his exploration was near completion, he smacked his face when he remembered that the Hokage had a map of the entire village of Konoha. Naruto then grumpily made his way towards the Hokage's office. When the young blonde landed near a dark alleyway, he hid as he peeked from the corner of his right eye at the entrance to the Hokage tower. It was packed this time with many rioters from last night's fiasco as he recognized several of them from that night.

"Kuso, they just won't let up! They're probably here to complain about the Uchiha massacre and 'my' involvement."

The young blonde said to himself as he sharpened his gaze for a possible opening for him to slip in unnoticed. He searched hard as the crowd jeered angrily for Sarutobi to listen to their cries while several jounins and chuunins were struggling to hold the crowd from tearing down the giant doors of the tower. Naruto waited patiently as he gazed hard at the rioting background. He attained this skill with his countless battles during the war with Aizen and his sparring matches with his father. It was no easy feat for the stubborn blonde, but he pulled through and gained that skill. The young blonde stood firm with his body leaned on the shadow of the wooden alleyway until he spotted the opening he was waiting for. He then transformed into his kitsune form and **shunpo'd** all the way into the open air vent that was being cleaned by the exhausted cleaning crew just a few meters away from the double doors of the Hokage tower. He took advantage of the short two second gaze the unsuspecting crew made upon the crowd at the front door and traveled up the air vent as he made his way towards the office of his old benefactor. When the ventilation shaft grew wide enough for his body to fit, he then reverted back to his old form and crawled the rest of the way through.

The young blonde masked his presence as he neared the office. He could feel the familiar chakra and reiatsu signature of his old friend as he peered through the slit opening of the vent and scanned the room for his target.

'_Good thing oji-san hasn't noticed yet. That paperwork is going to be the death of him if Orochimaru fails to kill him.'_

The young blonde mentally spoke as he scanned the room with a predatory glare in search of the map until he found the paper parchment stuck across the wall. Unfortunately, he couldn't enter just yet since his benefactor was still busy inside the office doing what all Hokages dread most, paperwork. And just like divine intervention, a knock on the door snapped the focused Hokage out of his meditative state.

"Come in."

The guard outside then opened the thick double doors for a bruised jounin to stumble in. The panting jounin's form raised an eyebrow on the old hokage. When the jounin had managed to catch his breath, he then made a hasty reply.

"Hokage-sama! The crowd is getting out of hand! We may need to subdue them. What are your orders sir?"

The old warrior then rubbed the bridge of his nose and stood up.

"I'll deal with it personally. Damage control is my responsibility as well."

The young blonde inwardly smirked at his luck. The moment the old warrior and panicked jounin along with the Hokage's guards left the building, Naruto quietly, but quickly took the map and rolled it up and placed it in his pocket.

"Yosh, I finally have the map. Better make sure no one notices it's missing."

The young blonde then took out an empty paper parchment from his other pocket and pinned it to the wall where the map used to be and made a **Henge** over it so it looks like the real thing. He then took out his black notebook and turned to a certain passage and pumped reiatsu on an inscription until a small patch of paper puffed out in existence.

His foxy tenant made a grin of delight as he said,

**Using the chakra storage sheets as a battery for the jutsu. Not bad gaki. The last time you used this was when you made a leave of absence from the shinigami academy for your father's birthday. Which reminds me, how do we go about the next six years?**

The blonde then responded while he attached the small sheet of paper behind the 'map'.

"Well aside from chakra and reiatsu control, I need to practice the jutsus and kido. I need to be able to master my kitsune form as well as find the energy balance between chakra and reiatsu. And be able to have more control over your chakra when I revert to the fox cloak or even partial transformation. I hope by the time of the genin exams I'd be able to master these things."

When the young blonde finished his trap, he then crawled back in the vent where he came and placed the lid back on making it appear that he was never there. Little did the young blonde know that his old benefactor was just outside the door and listened to every word the blonde had spoken during his false sense of security in that office.

Sarutobi was curious as to what the blonde had been up to since his involvement in the Uchiha massacre. And what was reiatsu and kido that the young blonde had been talking about? A lot of explanations would soon arrive at the sandaime's doorstep from Naruto's lips the moment the old warrior got the chance. As he entered the office and looked at the fake map, he then dispelled the paper's illusion and took the sheet of paper stuck behind it and analyzed its properties as he sat down to his desk. He was shocked at the intricacy of the seal written on the paper.

"The only one who ever made seals like this was the yondaime himself! Naruto, what are you hiding?"

The old warrior said in shock as he quickly took his crystal ball and poured chakra into it until he could see the young blonde dashing away from the Hokage Tower and back into his lair.

----------o)0(o----------

Naruto then pinned the map into the walls of his new home and made ten **Kage Bunshins** and ordered them to their chores.

"You six will practice tree walking and water walking with chakra and reiatsu. The two of you will hunt for dinner and the remaining two will redraw the map on paper."

The clones then took two their duties as Naruto dashed out of the forest and into the streets of Konoha. He needed new clothes and equipment badly so he took to the shopping district and searched through the stores. Most of which did not allow him entry and some tried to demoralize him into leaving because he couldn't afford the items there. He then left the stores and strolled back into the streets without a care to the several glares of death that he received. The young blonde countered those glares by sending a short pulse of killing intent at them to shake them out of their wits as he made his way to Ichiraku Ramen for a bowl of his favorite meal.

However, he wasn't the only one headed in that direction as a head of bluish black midnight hair followed him from a safe distance swerving in and out of the crowd but staying hidden from view. Naruto was able to sense her from a mile away and just smiled at her antics. Her stalker tendencies were very amusing to the blonde and felt flattered that she would stalk him like a fan girl even though she wasn't one. He was happy and more thankful that he had chosen her instead of his old crush Sakura.

The young blonde then happily sat down to his usual seat and hollered at old man Teuchi.

"Oji-san! Six bowls of pork ramen and keep them coming!"

The old man and his daughter Ayame were pleased to see their favorite customer once again. The old man then hollered back,

"Oi! Naruto! I haven't seen you since this morning. I was worried where my number one customer had been. If you hadn't shown up today, I might not be able to pay for Ayame's tution fee for college."

Naruto just grinned and said,

"Well, lots of things happened and I slept in today. So how's business Nee-chan?"

The brown haired woman then smiled as she placed his ready bowl for him and said,

"Nothing much Naruto-kun. Business isn't the same without your stomach here. Actually, it's the only stomach that can keep us here in business. Oh yeah! Iruka came over and was looking for you this morning. You haven't been skipping school lately again have you?"

The young blonde grinned once more and replied,

"Well I did sleep in so I did skip school today. Next time I plan to skip school, I'll make sure that my reason is because I ate here in your stand and was too full to go back!"

Old man Teuchi frowned and then said,

"But if you eat till you're full I might go broke!"

"Then I'll just order food for Iruka-sensei so that he can excuse me from school. Better that he pigs out than me!"

They all just laughed at the young boy's reply. After finally calming down, Teuchi then said to the blonde,

"You'd better eat your food before it gets cold. I wouldn't want you not to enjoy your re-heated meal from this morning."

It was like this ever since Naruto had been eating in Ichiraku Ramen. Teuchi and his daughter always prepared several bowls for him in the morning before they opened shop which by the time they did, Naruto would enter for his morning meal.

The young blonde however didn't want to eat his meal right away. He had something, or should I say, someone, he loved more than ramen who he wanted to be with to dine with him. Naruto turned his head towards a lamp post and waved his hand towards it.

"Hinata-chan! Why don't you join me! You must be hungry at this time of night."

The Hyuga heiress hid behind the lamp post once more as she turned red as a tomato.

'_Naruto-kun saw me! What do I do? What else silly! Go over there and join him! This is your chance! Go for it!'_

Hinata timidly walked over as she twiddled her fingers. She then sat one chair apart from Naruto and desperately tried to control her blush as she stared into the ground in embarrassment. The young blonde noticed her actions and politely asked her.

"So what will you have Hinata-chan?"

The Hyuga heiress glanced at the young blonde and blushed as she looked away. Ayame and Teuchi just chuckled lightly in an attempt to control their laughter at the shyness of the lavender eyed girl yet her obviousness in her affections for Naruto.

"I-I'd l-like m-miso ramen please."

Ayame couldn't hold it much longer and laughed much louder. This made Hinata blush even further if there was any other deeper color than crimson. The old man began working with Hinata's order as Naruto slurped his last bowl of ramen before receiving his next serving.

Normally, the young blonde would have placed his hand over her forehead to check if she was doing fine. But the Naruto in this timeline knew she was blushing because she was with her long time crush eating a meal alone with him in his favorite restaurant. All in all, the odds were in her favor and he was willing to accept any advances she could make without worry because he was in love with her as well.

The young blonde seized the opportunity and began talking with her before her order arrived.

"So how was school today Hinata-chan?"

The well placed question snapped the shy Hyuga out of her trance as she twiddled her fingers.

"A-ano, school w-was fine. B-but you w-weren't there Naruto-kun. Iruka-sensei w-was l-looking for you. C-come to think of it, S-Sasuke-kun was l-looking for you as well."

The young girl said as Naruto listened with intent never leaving his gaze from her. This of course made the lavender eyed girl blush once more and twiddle her finger nervously as her order arrived with a chuckling Ayame to boot. Hinata then mustered up her courage once more to speak.

'_Hinata! Calm down…this is your chance with Naruto-kun! Make your move!'_

"N-na-Naruto-kun, a-ano—"

Before she could utter the next word, Ayame, who couldn't stand not teasing the blonde, then interrupted.

"Naruto, you never introduced me to your girlfriend! How could you hide your relationships from a long time friend?"

Both Naruto and Hinata blushed beet red at the comment. They fell for her trap as she grinned in victory when she saw their priceless expressions as many more devious thoughts entered her mind. Hinata on the other hand was having other thoughts.

'_N-Na-Na-Naruto-kun's g-g-girlfriend?! Oh Kami, I think I'm going to faint…'_

And that she did as she fell to the floor dazed at the sudden comment. Naruto panicked and said to Ayame as he kneeled by Hinata.

"AHH! Ayame nee-san, now look what you did!"

Teuchi and his daughter just laughed as Naruto got out a bottle of ammonium and waved the scent to her nose to wake her dazed form. This time, Naruto was prepared for something like this because he made sure that if ever this happens again, he would be able to wake her at a moments notice. Hinata managed to awaken and blushed again at the closeness of their faces.

"Are you alright Hinata-chan? You scared me back there."

Hinata quickly got up and turned her back to him to hide her beet red blush as she twiddled her fingers and said,

"I-I'm fine Naruto-kun. P-please don't worry about me."

Naruto just smiled lovingly as a faint blush formed on his face before he grinned once more and said,

"That's good to hear! How about we eat our ramen before they get cold? Ramen doesn't taste good when cold."

The young blonde urged her as he sat down and pats the seat next to him. Ayame and Teuchi got the hint rather quickly and moved her dish so that it was next to his. Hinata slowly made her way to her seat and ate the ramen while not looking directly at her azure eyed crush. Though she liked other foods more, she had a taste for ramen as well. As she ate her fill, Naruto then asked her again.

"So how have you been Hinata-chan? And what were you going to ask awhile ago?"

Hinata blushed once more as her thoughts kept ringing.

'_Naruto-kun I...I...I...No No No No No NO! Bad thoughts Hinata!'_

"Ano…I-I was wondering, w-what have you b-been doing today?"

The Hyuga heiress stuttered as she finished her bowl. She tried hard to stop herself from fainting at their closeness.

"I've been training hard so that I can be Hokage someday!"

The energetic blonde said to her while pumping his fist in the air. The brown haired woman took advantage of the situation and made another embarrassing comment.

"Hokage eh? Being the Hokage is a big responsibility. It's like being the king of the country. So if you're going to be the king, who's going to be your queen?"

She said as she smiled suggestively at Hinata who blushed furiously in embarrassment. Naruto then yelled,

"Ayame nee-san! I'm too young to think about something like that!"

Naruto was flustered by the antics of his long time friend. Ayame laughed along with Teuchi who added to the comment.

"But someday you WILL think about that Naruto. What kind of girl would you wish to be your wife when you become Hokage?"

Naruto blushed again but smiled happily knowing full well his answer. Hinata on the other hand could feel her tiny heart beat faster and faster as she pondered upon the question herself.

'_Of course he would say someone like Sakura-san who is bold, beautiful and confident. She's the one he likes after all…'_

"Actually…"

The blonde said as his flaming azure eyes grew dreamier and mesmerizing with every second he was blushing. He was like a sunflower in bloom as his blonde locks of hair contrasted the midnight blue ones of Hinata and his face bloomed with a blush. Hinata then turned her head to listen more intently to the blonde's answer even though she knows his answer…or at least she thinks.

"If I were to choose a wife, I would like someone who is kind, timid, elegant and pure at heart…Someone who is proper and caring so that our children never become lonely and unloved but also disciplined and responsible…though she may be shy and possessive, deep down inside, she is a strong willed woman who is capable beyond her own understanding and very accepting of me despite my own flaws. To me, a woman like that is one in a million. And I would never leave her for another. Not even ramen would replace her."

Shock was not even a word to describe the trio's response to the deep wisdom that the blonde portrayed to the other three in that restaurant. Even his taste in women was nothing like any ordinary child. Most male children and teens would look for the prettiest girl as their mate and look inward afterwards but Naruto was the complete opposite as his choice was more inward and no outward description was said.

Hinata grew wide eyed at his remark. The lavender eyed girl had expected his description to be about Sakura yet it was as if he was describing the Hyuga heiress herself and that she was his type of woman. Her heart was near to explosion as she held her breath and her pale colored face bloomed.

Naruto paused to drink the soup of his bowl sophisticatedly and the moment he placed it back down, he continued.

"To me, if I had a woman like that by my side I would be the luckiest man in the world. Because if a woman as beautiful as that found that it was worth loving me to her…"

The young blonde then made a charming smile that made even Ayame blush.

"Then it is worth loving her to me."

Dumbfounded were they at the statement of the blonde. Shock and speechlessness were combined in their hearts as they struggled to understand if Konoha's number one most unpredictable knuckleheaded ninja was really seated in that stand as Ayame placed her hand upon his forehead to check if he has a fever. The young blonde frowned and said,

"I'm fine Ayame nee-san! I just don't look for women who hit me all the time and belittle me. Sheesh!"

"But I thought you're not interested in that yet?"

The playful Ayame teased. Naruto then replied in annoyance.

"I said I'm too young for that not that I'm not interested! Besides, I want to play more pranks and see the faces of my victims. If I become Hokage, I won't be able to do that no more."

Ayame then replied,

"But even if you were Hokage you'd still pull more pranks. They'll just be more scandalous than painting the Hokage Monument were everyone can see the faces of your victims."

The young blonde crossed his arms and pouted displaying his discomfort. Teuchi and his daughter both laughed adding more to his discomfort. Much to their surprise, Hinata laughed as well.

They all turned their heads towards the chuckling Hyuga. She had never laughed like this before. It was only Naruto that had caused her to make such a genuine laugh in her entire lifetime. It was a laugh so genuine that they were caught speechless. Naruto smiled when he saw the true beauty of Hinata and her laughter filled him with joy.

When the young Hyuga finally caught her breath she noticed their smiling expressions and blushed deep red once again. She then realized how late it was and promptly laid the payment near her empty bowl and said,

"A-arigato gozaimashta."

She then turned on her heel and ran towards the direction of her home.

"Oi! Hinata-chan! Wait a minute!"

The young blonde said as he attempted to reach out to her all to no avail as she had ran further than his hand could reach. He then raised his left hand close to his chest and made a one-handed seal of the **Kage Bunshin** and sent his clone to go after her. The old man and his daughter were impressed by his skill but still curious as to why he didn't run after her. Teuchi then broke the silence.

"Naruto, I think you should personally go after her."

The young blonde then stared into his dish as a blush formed on his face and his dreamy eyes gazed upon it blankly. He then replied to their curious suggestion.

"No, I shouldn't."

"How come? "

Ayame then replied.

Naruto closed his eyes for a second as he looked deep in thought. He then took a deep breath, and exhaled his answer as his flaming azure eyes opened revealing its mesmerizing form.

"Because I don't want us to get into that kind of relationship yet."

The old ramen vendor and his daughter listened intently to the young blonde. This was definitely an interesting development for the usually hyperactive blonde.

"I care about her just as much as she cares about me. She was the very girl I described. But we are still too young for the relationship we desire. I want us to be good friends first before we can be more than just friends. If I go after her personally at the moment, I might end up getting caught up with my feelings and it would be hard for us to reach our goals because our relationship would choke that."

Both Ayame and Teuchi were awed once more with the hidden wisdom and maturity that the young blonde displayed. Teuchi then smiled and ruffled the blonde locks of hair on the blonde's head as he said,

"But if it's meant to be, I don't think it will choke your dreams. Besides, she looks like a nice girl. I doubt a girl like that would kill any dream the both of you have. But I'll give you credit for waiting for the right time. Here, take this one. It's on the house."

He ended as he gave Naruto the extra bowl of miso ramen. Naruto happily dug in as he enjoyed his meal and payed his bill afterwards before turning tail homebound.

Teuchi and Ayame were still dumbfounded by the young blonde that was Naruto. They knew he had a pure heart and stong mind, but they were never expecting him to have wisdom beyond his years. Ayame looked worried as she saw the fleeting form of their number one customer. Her father placed his hand upon her shoulder in reassurance as he said,

"Don't worry. Whatever's going on with him is just part of growing up. Besides, he said he wants to become Hokage someday right? He'll make a fine one with his maturity. After all, he is Konoha's number one most unpredictable knuckleheaded ninja."

Ayame smiled once again knowing that Naruto was just himself...a complete enigma. Both Teuchi and Ayame came to accept his unpredictable ways a long time ago. They were even more glad seeing how much he is growing both inward and out as he walked away from the stand.

While the original was busy heading home, the clone was sent to bodyguard the running Hyuga heiress to make sure she got home safely.

Hinata ran as her short bluish black hair flowed in the direction of the wind. She was so surprised and embarrassed by the recent turn of events that occurred that night. Thought they didn't talk much, she felt like she was in paradise just being with him and seeing how intently he listened to her. Though the conversation didn't last long and she wasn't able to fill her belly for the night, she felt more than satisfied by just being with Naruto.

As Hinata slowed down seeing her home in the distance, Naruto's clone followed closely behind. As if the roles were reversed, Naruto's clone was busy stalking her. The clone then grinned as he saw the moonlight play upon her skin. If he was the sun in the bright day, she was the moon of the dark night. Contrast in personality yet had similar strengths and weaknesses. Both were perfect for each other as one complimented the other and supported each other. It was a match made by Kami himself. Despite his overflowing love for the girl, he needed to set aside his emotions for the next six years so that he can establish a strong friendship that they never had during his past life.

Hinata then entered the complex as a guard greeted her goodnight. There was no need anymore for the young blonde to watch over her in the pale moonlight. So the clone telepathically relayed the knowledge to the original that had just arrived back in his lair where he dispersed the remaining clones and rested on a newly crafted bed made by his clones during their spare time.

"So he accomplished his mission."

The blonde said as he lay in his bed. His tenant however was not satisfied with his half-hearted reply.

**So that's it? You're just going leave it at that? Don't you want to know her feelings this night?**

As much as he hated to completely agree with his tenant, Kyuubi had a point. Naruto really wanted to get to know her every single day and didn't want to let up on such an opportunity. Naruto sighed and telepathically sent his remaining clone a message.

In an instant, the clone ran around to the back of the street and transformed himself into the kitsune form. The three tailed fox then dashed towards the window he once entered and leaped in the gap once again. And just like before, he had the devil's own luck and entered when everyone was asleep. The white mane kitsune peered through the darkened room known as the Hyuga kitchen.

'_Yosh. No one's around. Now to head to Hinata-chan's room.'_

The white mane kitsune crept and slinked among the shadows lest the moonlight showering the rooms and hallways reflect from his pearl white fur that shone bright in the darkness. When the white mane kitsune managed to slip by, he noticed that the door to Hinata's room wasn't completely shut indicating she carelessly entered straight from outside. He then crouched low and gazed his flaming azure eyes through the room and blushed as he saw the dripping form of his love. She had just come out of the shower and was busy wiping her soaked form with her lavender towel. The kitsune was shocked by the glistening form of the girl as the moonlight shone on her pale skinned body. His mind raged as certain thoughts came creeping in.

'_AHHH! BAKA! She's six years old right now! You are not Ero-sennin, Baka Naruto! BAKA BAKA BAKA!'_

Naruto mentally slapped himself for thinking of such things. However, the Hyuga heiress felt a presence creep into the room. She immediately grabbed her kunai by the dresser, used the towel to cover her naked form and with weapon drawn she scanned the room, **Byakugan** ablaze.

The battle ready Hinata then dropped her guard when she noticed the kitsune that slept with her the night before. Naruto was flustered even more that he saw her battle ready attitude towards intruders.

'_I think I got the wrong house. Hinata-chan was never this battle ready. Could she have gotten over her dragging self-esteem?'_

Naruto thought as he sweat dropped while wagging his three white tails.

"Mr. Fox! F-for a second there I thought you were another kidnapper. You r-really scared me."

She said as she dropped her kunai and ran over to pick up the white three-tailed kitsune and lovably cuddled him much to his dismay as a blush formed on his face.

'_Then again, I could be wrong. She still has a long way to go just like I have.'_

Hinata then set down the blushing kitsune on her futon as she changed into her yukata. The young blonde placed his tails over his eyes making the changing Hinata chuckle at the human like display of emotions of her furry friend. When she finished changing into the white yukata, she then said,

"You really are strange Mr. Fox. I prepared some papers and a pen over there so we can talk better."

She then pointed to the stack of papers beside her other dresser by the wall and a pen on top. The white mane kitsune took the pen and paper with his tail and laid it down beside him as he listened to his woman speak her heart out.

"It's been a wonderful day today Mr. Fox even though didn't start out well. Otou-san has been training me really hard ever since our mommy died last year. I don't mind the training, but he gets mad at me every time I fail to do a move in **Juuken. **But it doesn't matter since I found out something really wonderful tonight. You know what it is Mr. Fox?"

The white mane kitsune shook his head acting as if he didn't know as he played along

"I'm Naruto-kun's type Mr. Fox!"

She said excitedly as she hugged him in enthusiasm. Naruto felt so warm and happy inside seeing her joyful and glad knowing that she was the very girl that her crush was looking for.

"Isn't that wonderful Mr. Fox? That I'm the girl he's looking for? I really don't know what to do Mr. Fox. Do you think I should go out with him? No, what am I saying. We can't do that until were older."

She said as she twiddled her fingers and flustered into a deep crimson at the thought of being with the young blonde she adored. Naruto mentally chuckled seeing how cute she was acting towards his earlier statement at Ichiraku Ramen.

'_I just can't stop thinking how cute and loveable she looks right now with her shy attitude. I really out to tell her that. But it might make things worse right now. Best just keep calm.'_

The white kitsune thought as he began to write once more in a new sheet of paper and showed her after its completion.

Instead of asking him out, why not be really good friends first so that the both of you won't find it awkward that the two of you are going out together.

Hinata was shocked once more by the kitsune's words. It was hard enough to get near him, but become close friends? That was almost impossible to do.

"I'm sorry Mr. Fox. But I still don't feel confident just yet. Though I am improving and Iruka-sensei said that I might just be able to exceed Sakura's grades both in the tests and the activites if I keep up the good work, I still have problems doing just that. It's hard to imagine me doing all those amazing things. Imagine, someone like me being the strong and brave head of the Hyuga clan? It's still a far away dream."

She said as she chuckled in disbelief at the dream of being someone so strong like the one she admired. Naruto understood completely as he nodded at her. She was still the shy and timid Hinata of this timeline and not the strong willed one of the future. Yet despite this, he loved both her past and future self as he saw the woman in her instead of the girl she is. The white kitsune then turned the paper around and wrote on the back. The shy Hinata looked over his work once more and smiled at the message that read,

But you are already confident and strong. The fact you are a shinobi who's trying her best is more than enough proof. You just need to take things one step at a time and you'll get there. Just become better than yourself every single day.

Hinata then rubbed the tear from her left eye as she replied,

"Arigato Naruto-kun."

The white mane kitsune suddenly froze at the reply. He didn't know how she knew but felt suddenly embarrassed knowing he screwed up. Hinata on the other hand, had no idea what she just said and laughed at the very reply she uttered.

"I'm sorry Mr. Fox. It just slipped out. I have no idea why I said that."

She said as she scratched behind his ears to comfort him. The white mane kitsune sighed in relief and enjoyed the feel of her soft palm rubbing his coat and head. He especially loved it when she scratched behind his ears and rubbed his belly that it made him squirm in delight. Hinata chuckled at the purr that the kitsune uttered as she cuddled him.

"But it would make me really happy if it was Naruto-kun who said that though."

She said as the white mane kitsune curled up on her lap. Naruto could only do so much in this form and at this time but just listen.

"I do like Naruto-kun but I'm not sure how he feels about me. I want to know more about him just as much as I want him to know about me. But he's so different now and I'm worried about him. If there is anything I can do to help him I will...Even if it means...getting him together with Sakura-chan I will."

The lavender eyed girl dropped her head in defeat. She had a fierce will but at the same time an affectionate and understanding heart. She was pure and strong but at the same time she was fueled by her feelings and her desires. It was her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. She was a leader in the making who just needed to get out of her shell. She was the same as Naruto, though contrastingly different. Naruto's aching heart sharply struck his mind as he mentally said,

'_Hinata-chan…the Will of Fire flows through your heart. I would do anything to hug you right now even if it means blowing my cover. But if I do that, you might not love me for me. I'm just as scared as you right now. That's why I'm doing things the right way so that I can show you how much of a great person you are. You're stronger than you believe to be Hinata-chan. I will show you how beautiful you are. Just wait for me Hinata-chan…just wait…'_

Hinata then felt another tug in her heart as she saw Naruto in her mind lending her a hand. She smiled at the image as she closed her eyes and said,

"Naruto-kun…I won't give up…I'll be someone for you…so that I can be by your side…because…I…I…I lo—"

Her words were cut short as she fell asleep on her bed. The clone transformed back into his regular shape and fixed her slumbering body in her bed as he pulled the sheets on her body. His face blushed as he gazed his flaming azure eyes upon her white skinned face and midnight blue hair. The moonlight truly was her personal spotlight as it enhanced her features and gave her an elegant glow. Naruto smiled lovingly as he ran his hand gently on her short locks of hair. He slowly crept to her side and sniffed her breath as he faced her just inches before their lips met. He enjoyed her scent and every part of her as he lightly kissed her on the lips and withdrew quickly and whispered to her ear.

"By the time these short locks of hair reach your shoulders, you will be the most beautiful woman in all of Konoha…and also, my woman…that I will love for all eternity….and even in death we will not part. That's a promise…Hina-hime…"

Hinata unconsciously moved to face him. Naruto just smiled as he turned around before dispersing himself for the original to receive all the information and feelings that had been presented that night in her room. Unknowingly to him, she was still half-asleep and half opened her eyes for her to see him before he disappeared into smoke.

"Naruto-kun…"

She faintly said as her eyes returned to slumber. Naruto on the other hand still could not sleep as he received the last bits of data from his last clone and reflected on everything that happened today.

"Looks like I did quite a lot today."

The young blonde said as he gazed directly at the moonlight from his prone position on his homemade bed of feathers and animal skin along with pillows and blankets of matching design.

"I managed to get the hang of tree walking and water walking with chakra again. But when it comes to reiatsu, I still need some work. I managed to catch some wild game and fish for dinner which was very good for a meal off the land. And Hinata-chan…looks like I'm a real hypocrite."

His tenant then snarled at him.

**Baka. You need to lighten up. I know that you feel bad that you're not completely sticking to the book awhile ago, but you need to understand that you have emotions. Don't take them for granted especially since you're trying to create a relationship that you never experienced even in your past life. That's the real challenge here gaki.**

Naruto sighed as he replied with a shiver in his voice.

"Kyuubi, can I really make Hinata-chan happy? Can I really protect her and everyone else? I'm really scared that she might reject me if she finds out. Eventually I have to tell her. I just hope by then she would be able to love me completely for me and trust me. But what if she doesn't and betrays me like everyone else? It really scares me more than dying…"

Naruto was losing his grip once more as the death scene that he pioneered during that battle in Suzaku's seal, played once more in his mind. He saw her face losing color fast as the blood seeped out of the wound in her spine and heart as well as the crimson stains on his hands and the dripping blood trickling down her mouth. He remembered feeling her hand on his cheek during his partial feral state as she gazed into his crimson slit eyes and overgrown fangs that slightly protruded from his lips. He saw it all again as she grabbed him by the cheeks and kissed him before uttering her last words of endearment to him.

Never has he ever experienced such fear of rejection and loss as he approached the idea of letting her know about his tenant and his past life. It was ironic as the blonde continued.

"I guess the reason I'm like this now is because I love her too. This must be what she feels everyday whenever I approach her or she thinks about me and how hard it must be to face rejection from the one you love. It's painful just thinking about it. Have you ever felt this way Kyuubi?"

The young blonde said hoping to get a reply. Instead he got another growl from his tenant.

**No I didn't. I loved someone, went out with her, asked her to marry me and we had kids. End of story. I don't beat around the bush or wait for the right time. I did what you did before and got my mate.**

Naruto frowned at the anti-climactic reply of his tenant.

"Guess you luckily found the right one when you did that. I had to go through one lifetime to do so and it wasn't easy since I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed at the time."

His tenant sighed once more and replied,

**Gaki, look at the moon once more.**

Naruto did just that. He gazed upon the moon and the memory instantly replayed in his mind.

_Flashback_

_**Gaki…Look at the moon. Tell me, why does the moon have light when only the sun emanates light?**_

_The young blonde gazed upon the moon. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again, allowing his now cyan eyes glow upon the vast darkness. He then responded to the fiery kitsune's question._

"_It has light kyuubi, because the sun provided light for it. No one is perfect. Everyone is just like the moon, looking for light that only the sun provides. Everyone has his or her own pains that show their weaknesses and the darkness in them. But when they do find that light that can change them and set them free, they become just like the bright full moon out here…a light for others to follow. It was the same for me. It was the same for Gaara. And it was the same for Hinata. We all looked for light. When I found that spark, she got that spark too from me. Just like everyone who I've met and protected. Even Sasuke got that light. But it's our choice from then on what to do with that light. We can either reject it like Sasuke did, or let it change us and light us up the way Gaara did…and the way Hinata tried to."_

_The fox then looked into the bright pale light that the moon shone on the whole face of Sereitei. He then asked once more of his master with full understanding and maturity._

_**Gaki…you've grown so much for a moon. Your just like this moon here. Though it can only reflect light, yet its reflection is almost as bright as the sun. Even the stars are twinkling like firelies in comparison to the light of the moon.**_

_The young blonde just blushed and scratched his head as he bashfully replied,_

"_I can only be this bright because of everyone's help."_

_The fox then replied,_

_**I don't think so. They were there to help, but like you said, you have to make the choice. All that will and determination over the past eighteen years hasen't burned out. In fact I think it's grown stronger. Kami has something big planned for you gaki. I can feel it in every tail I got. As the moonlight of this world, you will shine brighter than the stars. Not because you're**__**special, but because of the power of your soul.**_

_End of Flashback_

"I remember now."

The young blonde said as his eyes ignited once more into the flaming cyan color. It was so clear as day to him. It really didn't matter if he was loved or not because many people could not accept the light given to them because they were scared of it. Naruto wasn't and he took that light in open arms and became a reflector of it like the full moon that shone in the night.

Kyuubi could feel the elation and determination of his master ignite in their souls. It was a symbiotic relationship, but a good one. Kyuubi then told his master,

**Gaki, now that your resolve is renewed, I'll drill you on how to control my chakra and the fox cloak tommorrow. Also, you will train to become your inner kitsune without excuses.**

Naruto just nodded as he closed his eyes and slumbered into the dreamworld where he stood on top of the Hokage Monument first in his shinobi clothing, then in his shingami form and finally transforming into his kitsune form as the full moon shone upon the village of Konoha. This was how he would be to the people of Konoha. He was a shinobi of the leaf, a shinigami captain of Sereitei, and the fox that will protect them instead of the fox that attacked them. True his shadow loomed over their village, but it was the shadow of their guardian angel that would protect them from the wiles of Orochimaru, the betrayal of Sasuke, the attack of the sound and sand, Akatsuki's pilgrimage for power through the biju and finally the elemental gods wrath in spite of all the hate directed at him.

Despite all these pressures that have burdened his soul, he needed to strive onward whether he will be hated for his decisions or not. As the self proclaimed shadow of the village, as its guardian, he would do everything in his power to protect it. In his shadow, the village will be saved. But all the village would see as they look upon his opaque form would be the shadow of a fox.

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I'm really sorry about the delay. I had a hard time doing this chapter because I was starting from scratch here and I had writer's block. The next chapter will be about the genin exam and how he tackles it. At least there I have some resources to pull from this time. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm exhausted. I might do a fanfic for Ai Yori Ayoshi later on after this one. But I'll focus on this one first so that I can better do the next one. Anyway, Ja ne!


	13. The Return of the Golden Leaf

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: The genin exams are in this chapter! Although it's a bit rushed, it should cover the distance on Naruto's life in Konoha at least until this point. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 13**

_**The Return of the Golden Leaf**_

After six grueling years of discipline, the twenty four year old soul begins anew….

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The gust cold air had blown over the entire of Konoha by dawn as the young blonde awoke from his humble abode. Naruto used to hate mornings, but because of his self disciplined lifestyle, Naruto had learned to at least get used to it without much frustration.

The young blonde woke up to the songs of the birds that traveled through the gale blowing over the forest. At night, the forest was as menacing as a lions den. But in the mornings, it was as peaceful as a sleeping lamb. Naruto then stood up with his azure eyes ablaze, began stretching for his busy day today.

"Now that's done, what day is it today…"

The young blonde spoke as he calmly walked over to his calendar posted opposite his bed.

Naruto's living space has changed over the past six years. His bed was now a proper futon that he managed to scavenge and repair from outlying enemy shinobi in the forests of Konoha. His map was drawn well and pinned on the wall that was at the left side of his bed. He had a new set of clothing in his make shift dresser just opposite his bed. Most of the clothing were things bought from traveling merchants that occasionally passed through Konoha. Naruto also managed to acquire a new set or should I say, sets of tools for his life as a shinobi as they hung on his wall beside the dresser for him to pull out quickly. His weapons were naturally, spoils of battle from the countless enemy shinobi that attempted to spy on his village. Across his bed space was another open air room where he had a makeshift table over a small stove that stood in the center where he would cook his meals while his bathroom was the river and bushes outside.

"So it's _that_ day already. Better get ready."

The young blonde said as he saw the marked date on his calendar. He had marked the dates of great importance concerning the future on his calendar. Currently, the date he saw was the turning point of his life, the genin exams. Naruto had trained hard for this day. However, until now, he wasn't so sure how to do the exams. It was either pass and evade the entire forbidden scroll incident, or fail and go through it like last time.

The wise young blonde took to the kitchen and made himself a quick meal of salted fish that was wrapped in leaves to prevent from rotting and prevent ants from eating away at it. he then peeled off the leaves and boiled it in the stove as he placed several leftover vegetables that he procured last night during his hunt for dinner, and placed the lid upon it to let it cook while he made himself some fresh green tea. He acquired the skill of tea making from his mother who taught him proper etiquette and manners during his days in Soul Society.

When the smell of boiled fish and vegetables filled his nose, he took off the lid and poured on his bowl the stew that he created. Ever since he had lived in the forest of death, he had eaten much healthier food aside from ramen that he devoured regularly. It gave him strength and nourishment as well as enhanced his already keen senses and mind. The young blonde had grown to liking healthier foods because of this fact.

While the blonde ate his meal and drank his tea, his tenant then asked his master.

**So have you decided on how to approach the test gaki? It should be easy for you since you've mastered the basics and have about the full strength you can have with your current body. Just a couple more years and you can have the full strength of your soul materialize from your body so you would be able to show up in our shinigami form.**

In an instant a **Kage Bunshin** appeared beside Naruto and began cleaning up the mess as the young blonde took to the nearby river to bathe.

'_I think it would be best to just do it like last time. The forbidden scroll has a lot of jutsus that I can learn for the missions later on. Although we didn't spend much time to practice jutsus and kido, but with my perfect control of chakra, reiatsu, and youki, it would be a cinch to perform them. I do have the next few years for that. Besides, I still have to learn how to expand my control over the balanced energy of chakra and reiatsu.'_

His furry tenant agreed. Naruto took a quick bath and put on his boxers once more and stood on top of the river. He wanted to warm up before he headed off to the academy so he can stay sharp for the road ahead. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he prepared his right hand in a one-handed seal for his trademark technique.

"Yosh, Ikimasho! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

Thirty clones of the young blonde appeared around him all eyes shut. When they simultaneously opened them, crimson slit ones replaced the flaming azure ones as their fangs and claws grew. Without delay, they took to the original for his early sparring session. Naruto used the **Taijutsu **skills he learned from his father and mother as well as the shinigami academy bare handed fighting skills that he picked up as he punched the clone in front of him and took the arm of another and broke it in two places. He understood the pain his clones received and winced slightly indicating that he performed the moves correctly. He went through several grapples and striking combinations without using his fangs or claws at all. All he needed were his eyes. Though it wasn't exactly like the **Sharingan**, but it definitely had similarities as he could see things in great detail to the tiniest dust particle as everything around him began slow down greatly for the young blonde to react with the right timing and movements.

His senses, in this form, also increased as he could feel things in a three mile radius that grew stronger as it got closer to him. He could smell things much farther away that even the Inuzuka clan would be envious of and hear much sharper than normal. And it was a good thing he was in this form. By the time he defeated his last clone, he hid in the bushes and masked his youki just in time for four chuunins to arrive. They were on patrol of this area for quite some time now.

"I thought I felt something here. It didn't feel right. It felt…evil…"

The tallest one said. The others were on edge as they searched the river and outlying trees and bushes. Just before they left, they heard something rustling in the bush closest to the riverbank. The shortest one threw a kunai towards the bush. When they carefully inspected what it hit behind the shrub, they sighed in relief as they saw the dead form of a medium length snake with the kunai stuck to his head.

"A snake…somehow I don't feel completely relieved. This forest is too creepy. Can we get another assignment? This place gives me goosebumps."

The brown haired man said to the tall one who just scratched his head and sighed in agreement. All four then left the river and out of the area. Naruto on the other hand was watching from the top of his home on the tallest branch as he saw their retreating forms.

"Good thing I made a **Kawarimi**. It seems that our position will be compromised any day now. Better train back in the old grounds I used to train in."

The young blonde then leaped down in the open center where he landed softly on the branch that lead to his bed space. He then took to the room and opened his drawers.

"Since we're going to do the genin exams, might as well change outfit."

The young blonde then looked through his drawers and took out the clothing he was to wear for the day. After he put them on, he took a last look at his home. For six years he had lived here. It won't be long before he leaves this place. The young blonde then turned his head towards the direction of Konoha as his flaming azure eyes became cyan.

"It's time to go wild. Ikimasho dattebayo!"

With that battle cry, he **shunpo'd** his way to the academy.

----------o)0(o----------

The entire classroom was as rowdy as ever. Several would be genins were chatting away or just tending to themselves. Chouji sat beside his best friend Shikamaru and ate his chips while the lazy black haired boy mumbled 'how troublesome today was.'

Ino and Sakura as well as most of the girls in that room swooned over the brooding raven haired boy in blue shirt and white shorts. Sasuke was brooding because he was bored. All he wanted to do was take the exam and head home so he can train to avenge the deaths of his clan and for wounding his parents.

Kiba was busy playing with his dog Akamaru while Shino was being the loner he always was.

Aside from everyone who was busy chatting away to pass the time before Iruka would arrive, one person was deep in thought. After six years of constant 'coincidences', Hinata had gotten along with Naruto quite well. Though her overall shyness hasn't faded, she at the very least was able to converse with Naruto without stuttering in the very least unless it was an embarrassing situation. Though many did not realize this since the two were meeting only coincidentally, they had become close friends. Hinata looked over at the crowd of girls and danced her eyes over the entire classroom as she stared blankly into the room. She sighed since her crush was nowhere in sight.

'_Naruto-kun isn't here yet. I hope he graduates this time. If he passes, then I'll congratulate him. Maybe I should make breakfast for him so we can eat together before we're given our teams? Yes, I think I'll do that.'_

Hinata's heart fluttered as a shade of pink coated her face at the thought of being that close to Naruto. As their minds drifted off into their own worlds, a noticeable young blonde entered the classroom. They turned their heads once more to see the young blonde that entered. His blonde locks of hair were combed down as his bangs poured over his face. He was the spitting image of the yondaime if it were not for his whisker birthmarks that lined his cheeks. He wore a black sleeved undershirt with the hiragana for 'white lightning fox' written in cyan at the front. Over it was a white sleeveless jacket with hood down that partially covered the insignia in the back. The insignia had the white kanji for wind in the center with several blue kanjis for fire encircling it with black flames encircling the inner circle of text. He also wore black sleeveless gloves, black pants that were bandaged at the ends with his black tabi boots.

The genin hopefuls that saw the young blonde enter were shocked at the unpredictable new look of the Naruto. Some of the girls started to take notice of the handsome blonde. If it were not for his loud and rowdy persona, they would have instantly fallen for him. Hinata blushed as she saw his new look.

'_Kami, he's handsome! But Naruto-kun's always been handsome. Maybe…just maybe…I can ask him out this time…but what if he rejects me?'_

Hinata struggled whether to ask him out or not as the young blonde walked towards his seat. Shikamaru was feeling suspicious of the new Naruto. He knew he was unpredictable, but to this degree, it began to raise eyebrows on even the stoic Shino as the bug master adjusted his shades. If it were not for those black spectacles, they would have seen his eyes widen slightly as he analyzed the young blonde. Shikamaru on the other hand, was not as silent as Shino and asked the blonde bluntly.

"Hey Naruto, What's with the new outfit?"

The young blonde turned around to fix his flaming azure eyes at the knowledge hungry ones of the lazy Shikamaru. For a second, it was a cold war between them as Naruto struggled to give no hints whatsoever to the perceptive lazy genius while Shikamaru in turn began analyzing the young blonde.

'_Naruto is one thing…unpredictable. No matter how much I analyze the guy, he just seems to be an enigma. It's like predicting the weather. You can only predict so much but eventually something unexpected happens. I have absolutely no clue of the guy but my intuition says that something definitely is up. I need more data on him.'_

Naruto then gave his foxy grin at the lazy genius and said,

"I decided that since we're going to be genin today, I'd put on my best for today so I'd look cool!"

Naruto said as he unknowingly gave the good guy pose to the lazy genius. Shikamaru just sighed out his favorite phrase. Of course, he was still suspicious of the young blonde despite his lazy appearance. Naruto for that moment inwardly was sweating since he knew how intelligent Shikamaru was and did not want to say anything about how it feels to have died and became death itself along with having the Kyuubi sealed in him. Naruto then turned around and saw his seat. It was the same seat beside his princess to his right and his old crush to his left. Naruto wanted so much to hug her but knew he just needed to get over this day and then he could be with her at least secretly.

Hinata blushed at how close she was to him and began to hide her head as her blush grew wider.

'_Naruto-kun is so close. I think I'm going to…No! Pull it together!'_

When Hinata managed to win over her depressed conscience, she sat straight up to talk to him. But before she could utter a word, he walked over to Sakura and waved his hand as he said,

"Ohayo Sakura-san!"

The cotton candy haired girl turned around and gave him an evil glare before returning to swoon over the brooding raven haired boy.

'_I knew it. She's still the same then and now. Good thing I stopped chasing her a long time ago. Anyway, Sasuke's brooding. Typical…since he lost his clan and found out it was his brother who committed the crime, he still is power hungry. But at least this time there's some light in his eyes. Kami-sama…please help me save him this time.'_

Naruto then promptly sat down as he let out a sigh. He then turned to look at his beautiful lavender eyed girl and gave her a charming smile. She blushed into a shade of crimson as the blood rushed to her head while she hid her face in embarrassment.

'_Still cute as ever. I wonder how she's been doing the past few days?'_

"So Hinata-chan…"

The blushing Hyuga turned to face him as she struggled to hide her blush.

"Do you think you'll pass the genin exam?"

Hinata looked away as she twiddled her fingers and replied,

"Ano…I'm sure I'll pass the test Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled as he said,

"That's great Hinata-chan! I'll pass the test and become the next Hokage!"

He said as he pumped his fist in the air like an idiot. Sakura and several other girls including Ino who were nearby, had veins throbbing. If it weren't for the entry of Iruka sensei, they would have beaten the shit out of the young blonde. Instead, they sent many bone shivering stares at him which made the normally collective blonde shiver. Iruka then coughed which silenced the crowd as they returned to their seats. It was the biggest day of their lives…At least for everyone else aside from the young blonde. Naruto had gone through this test before and just wanted to get his hands on the forbidden scroll to learn from it. He learned and mastered the jutsus of his parents but he knew that they weren't enough since there were so many jutsus that they had forgotten and some of which where on the forbidden scroll. It wasn't a gamble this time since he knew exactly how to deal with this situation.

"We will now start the final exam. If your name is called, come to the classroom next door. The subject will be **Bunshin jutsu**."

Naruto wasn't panicked this time as a tiny smirk emerged on his face. Shikamaru took notice as he eyed the blonde carefully before the lazy genius was called in the next room as well.

Many had entered the room next door and returned with the hitai-ate strapped on them. Sakura had hers where her ribbon was, Ino had hers on her waist, Kiba had is on his forehead as well as Shino and Sasuke. Chouji would have his modified to fit his style. Naruto just stared out blankly as he waited for his name to be called. That is until he felt the presence of his princess timidly approach him. Naruto looked over and saw her wearing the hitai-ate around her neck as the light of the sun shone on it.

"Ano…Naruto-kun…you're not nervous?"

Naruto then smiled at her and said,

"Not really. It's great to see you wearing yours already. You really made it."

Hinata blushed at his comment and praise.

"Ano…Naruto-kun, you're so brave. How can you be so confident?"

Naruto looked deep in thought as he scratched his head. After thinking rather deeply, he then said,

"I guess it's because I'm not afraid to fail this test since I'll just take it the next time around."

Hinata marveled at his confidence. Though somewhat misplaced, he was confident in a way that just came naturally. She always admired that from him.

"Uzumaki Naruto…"

A voice hollered out. Naruto then calmly strolled to the next room.

"Looks like it's my turn Hinata-chan."

The young blonde then stood up from his seat and began walking to the next room.

"G-gambate Naruto-kun!"

Hinata managed to say before he left the room.

'_I said it! I really said it to Naruto-kun! I feel stronger now! I hope he makes it…No he will make it. After all, it's him. I'll be waiting outside for you Naruto-kun…I believe in you."_

Unfortunately for her, he wasn't planning to pass this test. As he strolled into the room where Iruka and Mizuki were waiting, his tenant decided to ask the question that has been pondering the fiery kitsune's mind since the morning.

**Gaki, how do you intend to learn the entire forbidden scroll when you only have a few seconds to do so?**

Naruto then smirked to his tenant as he mentally said,

'_Don't worry too much. We'll pull through.'_

Naruto then took to his stance as the two chuunins watched the blonde eagerly. One was watching him hoping he would pass while the other one wanting him to fail.

And just like before, Naruto willfully made a pathetic version of his clone. he even made the same expression as before when Iruka scolded him.

"Iruka-sensei, his movements and stamina are good, and he did replicate. Maybe we can pass him."

Mizuki said to Iruka. Naruto knew however that Mizuki was just being cynical. Iruka however needed to abide by the rules.

"Mizuki-sensei, everyone is able to produce at least three replicants. But Naruto could only produce one that will merely be a bother. I cannot pass him."

'_Everything's going the way it used to. This time, I'll make sure you don't get hurt Iruka-sensei.'_

Everything went as planned. He failed miserably like last time. As the several parents gathered around their children, Naruto sat in the swing near the shade like he did last time.

"Kyuubi, even though I met my parents already, it's still sad that I never spent my childhood with them. I really wished that I could have met them earlier. How different do you think my life would have been if I met them earlier?"

Naruto said as the thought brought up hidden feelings of anxiety. The young blonde had many feelings that swirled in his heart. Kyuubi could only sigh since there was nothing he could say to the blonde that would cheer him up.

The young blonde then snapped out of his depressed state when he looked to his right and saw Mizuki standing there smiling at him.

'_Looks like it's time to get to work.'_

Behind the crowd where many parents gathered around their children in delight, two figures were busy staring at the sad blonde in the distance.

"Iruka…I need to talk to you later."

The old warrior said as the two people in the shade left. Iruka then responded to the Hokage's command.

"Yes sir."

However, oblivious to Iruka and Sarutobi, another was paying attention to the young blonde as well.

'_Oh no…Naruto-kun…you were so confident…But why is Mizuki-sensei with you?'_

Was the thought of the Hyuga heiress as she saw Naruto and Mizuki walking away.

----------o)0(o----------

Sunset had begun as the young blonde and the blue haired man sat at the balcony of an abandoned building. For Mizuki, it was the opportunity to get the broken blonde to do his bidding. For Naruto, it was the opportunity for him to gather jutsus from the forbidden scroll.

"Iruka-sensei wasn't being mean."

Mizuki said hoping to take advantage of the young blonde's crippled state.

"Then why does he keep on picking on me the most…?"

Naruto said imitating his past.

"He wants you to become truly strong, Naruto-kun. Since you two don't have any parents."

Mizuki said to the young blonde. Naruto knew better that he wasn't being sincere with him but played along anyway.

"But…I wanted to graduate."

The young blonde said as his memories of this day from his past life replayed in his mind. It was still painful seeing Iruka-sensei get hurt and how he found out about the Kyuubi. It was a pain he remembers well, but is now strong enough to overcome.

Mizuki saw the sad desire of the young blonde and made his move.

"Fine."

Naruto tried his best to look as surprised as he could when he looked directly at the blue haired man and said,

"What?!"

Mizuki smirked at his luck.

"I'll tell you a big secret."

And so Mizuki explained to Naruto what he had to do to pass. Naruto of course knew what he had to do and listened. After Mizuki's explanation, the young blonde then took off to his home while Mizuki stood there with an evil smile.

As the sun and moon traded places, Iruka was too restless to sleep in his bed from thinking about the conversation that he had with the Hokage that afternoon.

_Flashback_

"_Iruka…"_

_The wise old man said._

"_What is it Hokage-sama?"_

_The old warrior just sighed as he looked at the painted sky._

"_I understand how you feel, but Naruto grew up without knowing the love of a parent, like you."_

_Many flashbacks filled his mind as Iruka saw his parents dying at the tail swipes of the Kyuubi while he was being taken away from the battlefield. It panged his heart with a loud echo that he realized what he just did to Naruto with his legalism. True he needed to follow rules and regulations, but he didn't need to take it so far that it would hurt the young blonde's heart._

"_You're probably right Hokage-sama. I should have been nicer to him. I'm really sorry."_

_The brown haired chuunin said with a downcast look in his eyes._

"_No need to apologize to me. But I think you should apologize to him instead."_

"_You're right Hokage-sama. I think I'll just do that."_

_Iruka then was about to leave to his other responsibilities when Sarutobi asked him._

"_Iruka, have you visited Naruto lately?"_

_Ikruka turned his head to the old warrior and replied._

"_No Hokage-sama. Naruto has been doing quite well actually and he always insisted to go home on his own so I never really bothered. Is there something wrong with him?"_

_Sarutobi just shook his head. If Iruka had known were Naruto was staying, his senses would have definitely been rattled and he would seek revenge upon the villagers who burned down the young blonde's home._

"_No, not all. I just wanted to know from you. Naruto has been working hard lately and yet I feel he's been hiding things from us. I'm sure you've noticed his change in attitude."_

_Iruka gasped quietly as it hit him harder than Gai's punches. Naruto's sudden change in attire, his attitude towards studying and doing exercises. Even his personality and how he has been relating with others has changed quite a bit. It wasn't much to be noticeable, but he has been acting this way for quite some time now that it began to bother Iruka. He was glad that it wasn't only him who seemed bothered but at the same time he was worried about Naruto. _

_As the Hokage left to his duties, Iruka kept pondering upon what this could all mean. What was going on with Naruto?_

_End of Flashback_

A sudden sound of banging returned the scarred chuunin back to reality as he got up from bed and heard the voice of a familiar man shouting at the door.

"Iruka-sensei, wake up!"

Iruka snapped out of his gaze and opened the door and saw the slightly panicked form of Mizuki. He could only fear the worst.

"What is it?"

The brown haired chuunin said to his agitated comrade.

"Please come to Hokage-sama's place. It seems that Naruto-kun carried the Forbidden Scroll out."

Iruka was shocked at this turn of events.

"What! The Forbidden Scroll!"

Was the brown haired chuunin's reply of panic as he tried to absorb what he just heard. How could have Naruto stolen the Forbidden Scroll out of the Hokage's nose? But another thing that puzzled him was that Mizuki knew who carried it out. But he put that aside knowing that the Hokage must have seen Naruto before he snuck out of reach with the scroll.

Meanwhile, in the forests not to far off from the village, Naruto sat there with the scroll laid down and opened for him to read.

"It was pretty easy for me to snatch the scroll from oji-san. I wonder how long it's going to take for them to find me."

The young blonde said as he opened the scroll wider to read the contents.

"Let's see, the first technique is…**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**. Yup, I'm done with that. Let's see, what else…Hmm. **Kage Shuriken no Jutsu**. Otou-san already taught me that. What else…"

As Naruto searched the large scroll, he realized that a good portion of the jutsus that he learned from his training with his parents, were written in the scroll. As he searched deeper, he saw several other techniques that interested him. He was already proficient in wind jutsus and average in fire and lightning, but he needed to know more than just nature manipulation.

**Gaki, this will take at least a year's worth of training to master them.**

His foxy tenant grumbled.

"Don't get your fur caught in its cages. I just need to learn these ones."

Naruto said as he inscribed in his black book the jutus that he wanted to immediately learn. They were at least jounin level techniques but for Naruto, it was going to be a breeze. When Naruto finished sealing the inscriptions in his tome of knowledge, he then took out a jar of ink from his pocket, opened it and formed handseals. He then whispered,

"**Sumi Bunshin no Jutsu."**

A clone made ink emerged from the jar. Naruto's tenant smirked as he said,

**So that's the plan. Ink clone made from the knowledge of the Forbidden Scroll. You're becoming more kitsune-like everyday.**

Naruto then mentally instructed his clone. The clone began to run his hands through the entire scroll as it memorized the way the ink blotted down on the paper. When he finished performing his task, the original gave him the book and said,

"Now that you've copied down the entire scroll, I want you to head home and rewrite yourself on the black book."

The clone then took off leaving the young blonde with the large scroll.

"Since I still have time before Iruka-sensei and Mizuki finds me, I should practice the variant of the **Rasengan** I've been trying to accomplish. With the **Futon Renkudan **in combination with the **Rasengan**, I'll be able to use **Rasengan** at longer ranges giving me a better chance of winning. Another thing would be to practice the **Enkou Bunshin** that I just found out from the scroll along with the **Raikou** variant."

Naruto then made twenty clones and they began to focus on performing the moves. As the young blonde kept himself busy, the many shinobi summoned to the Hokage began to complain about how dangerous the scroll was in his hands. Sarutobi gave them the command to find him and they left instantly.

Iruka traveled throughout Konoha in search of him. He panted in desperation looking for him.

'_Where did you go Naruto?' _

Iruka panicked knowing that his favorite student was out there with a dangerous object that could spell disaster if he didn't make it in time.

He dashed along the streets and into the forests of Konoha where he knew Naruto could be during his training days. It was only a matter of time till he saw the blonde lying down in the small clearing with several scratches and dust all over indicating he's been training hard. And just beside the blonde was the Forbidden Scroll. He then marched towards the blonde. When he got within arms length of Naruto, he then placed his hands on his hips and said,

"Hey Naruto!"

The young blonde then sheepishly grinned as he scratched his head and replied,

"Looks like you caught me Iruka-sensei. I only managed to master one jutsu. If I show it to you will I graduate?"

Iruka was astonished at the dedication of the blonde. He wore himself out training hard so that he can pass the genin exam. He was touched at the display of determination that Naruto showed. Even though the young blonde always showed this kind of determination everytime, it always touched the brown haired chuunin's heart. But then something struck him from the words of Naruto.

"Who told you such a thing?"

The young blonde knew what would happen next at this point and readied himself for what would happen next. He then re-enacted the scene once more as he joyfully replied,

"Mizuki-sensei did! He told me about this place and this scroll!"

Iruka was shocked at how manipulative his colleague was and how cruel he was to take advantage of the poor boy. Everyone knew that Mizuki hated the young jinchuuriki but never showed it outright.

And just like before, Mizuki's kunai came flying at the back of the brown haired chuunin. Naruto then decked the man to the side allowing them to avoid the kunai now stuck to the wall.

"I'm surprised that you found out about this place."

The blue haired chuunin said from his perched position above them in a tree branch. Iruka glared at him coldly as he got up while Naruto inwardly smirked.

'_Another successful mission. Iruka-sensei, hopefully you will forgive me for deceiving you for the past six years. But I only did it for your protection. Maybe someday, I would be able to repay the favor. Looks like its time for me to wrap things up.'_

"What's going on here?"

The young blonde said as he feigned innocence. Mizuki smirked at his luck. To him it was killing two birds with one stone. Iruka then faced the blonde and said,

"Naruto, no matter what, don't let Mizuki get his hands on that scroll. It's a scroll full of forbidden techniques. Mizuki used you so that he could get a hold of it!"

The blue haired man made an evil grin as he said,

"Naruto, Iruka is afraid of you possessing that. Let me tell you the truth."

Iruka then shouted in dismay.

"Don't!"

Mizuki did not bother to listen though and continued anyway.

"A rule was created after the incident that occurred twelve years ago. It's a rule that only you Naruto, cannot find out about."

Naruto looked at the blue haired chuunin with curiosity while still feigning innocence.

"Stop, Mizuki!"

Iruka screamed but his former colleague continued hoping to paralyze the blonde's heart.

"It's the rule not to say that Naruto is the Kyuubi no Yoko. In other words, you are the nine-tailed demon fox who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village."

Inwardly, Naruto rolled his eyes. Kyuubi laughed at the scene that unfolded. As the young blonde fell to his knees, Mizuki took the chance and began twirling one of his large shurikens and shouted with hate,

"Die Naruto!"

The spinning blade went flying at the young blonde to decapitate him. Iruka then leaped over to guard Naruto, but was intercepted by the quick movements of the young blonde who grabbed the shuriken and threw it at the branch that Mizuki was perched on. The branch was sliced up leaving Mizuki to fall onto the blanket of grass hard. Iruka was shocked at the sudden speed and strength of the blonde. As Mizuki stood up from his battered state, Naruto looked at him coldly with flaming azure eyes as a sudden blow of killing intent chocked the blue haired man for a second.

'_How did he do that? How could a bastard monster fox like him be able to move like that? And what is this intense killing intent!__ I can barely breathe.'_

As the blue haired man panted hard with sweat pouring down from his face, Iruka could only watch as the tables suddenly turned.

"Iruka-sensei isn't like that. The fact that he tried to save me proves it! And you tried to kill him and me. I'll never forgive you…I'll kill you!"

Fear began to paralyze the blue haired man as his arms and legs wobbled from fright as the young blonde began to form a cross handseal and shouted,

"**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

Instantly, a large smoke erupted and covered the field. When it finally cleared, hundreds of clones of the blonde haired boy were seen surrounding the now pale faced Mizuki as he managed to get up still shaking.

Naruto gave no room for hesitation as all the clones without falter pummeled the traitor to the ground. Several sounds of bones breaking were heard as Mizuki's girlish screams died down with the unconscious state of the blue haired man from the beating he received.

"Are you alright Iruka-sensei?"

The young blonde asked as he approached the smiling brown haired chuunin.

"I'm fine Naruto. How about you?"

The young blonde then scratched his head as he gave his foxy grin.

"It'll take more than that to hurt me."

Iruka was surprised and happy to know that Naruto was becoming stronger and stronger by the day. Though he was still worried about how he took the sudden revelation from Mizuki, he still smiled seeing how brave the young blonde was this night. Iruka then said to his blonde companion.

"Naruto, come here for a second, I'd like to give you something."

The young blonde agreed knowing what would happen next. When he opened his eyes, he smiled seeing the bare forehead of Iruka. He knew what had happened. And like before, he hugged the man and said thank you. Iruka just laughed as he said,

"C'mon Naruto, it's getting late. Let's head back to the Hokage and give him the scroll. We should also drop Mizuki over at the hospital on our way there."

"But why should we take him back to the hospital? That teme deserves to rot here for all I care."

Naruto said as he pouted. But eventually he agreed and they both entered the Hokage's office and returned the scroll.

"So it was a trap from the start by Mizuki. I can't blame Naruto for this one since Mizuki was the one pulling the strings. And if it weren't the efforts of Naruto to take down the man, he would have been long gone with all the secrets of the Forbidden Scroll. Not bad for a first mission as a genin."

The old man somberly said to the nodding blonde from his understanding of the situation. Though he did see the battle that took place from his crystal ball, he still wanted to hear the report directly from them.

"Since that's done, why don't you rest for the night Naruto. It must have been a hard for you after what just happened."

Naruto sheepishly agreed as he let out a loud yawn.

"How about I take you home Naruto. We could have ramen on the way before we get there."

Iruka said to the young blonde. Naruto just smiled as he rubbed his eye and said,

"That's alright Iruka-sensei. I already ate before the thing with the Forbidden Scroll happened. And I'm tired already. All that fighting has made me sleepy." Naruto sighed. _'Actually, I'm tired from all the training with those new jutsus. I wonder if I can combine them with kido? Ah, whatever. I really need to sleep.'_

Naruto then bid them good bye and strolled out. Iruka was going to follow the young blonde but Sarutobi urged him otherwise.

"But Hokage-sama he—"

"No means no Iruka. Have more faith in him. He can handle himself just like you did when you were his age."

Sarutobi said interrupting the brown haired chuunin. Iruka was still hesitant at first, but after seeing Naruto in action tonight, he complied with a weak smile on his face. Naruto was becoming stronger and stronger everyday that they could rest assured that someday, he was the ones who would be protecting them. When the brown haired man left for his home, Sarutobi placed the scroll back in its place and began to gaze upon his crystal ball as he saw the young blonde stop in the middle of the road. Suddenly, the young blonde bolted so quickly that in two seconds, he was already outside his treehouse.

Sarutobi was shocked almost out of his skin.

'_Naruto said to us that he was tired from all that fighting and training to master that one jutsu. Wait a minute…I'm such an idiot!' _

Sarutobi slapped himself for his own incompetence.

'_He said master, not learn. But still, the __**Hiraishin no jutsu**__ was lost with Minato. How could he have learned such a technique in such a short span of time? It's even more advanced than __**Shunsin**__! I have no choice but to question him tomorrow when he becomes an official genin.'_

The unsuspecting blonde entered his den and stretched out his limbs. The fight was a neat warm up for the young blonde since it was a very long time for him to face living opponents. He looked over the bed were his book lay. As he flipped through each page carefully, he began to see a pattern somehow in the way they were arranged.

'_Hey Kyuubi, I just realized that there's a certain passage that contains a pattern of some sort. It starts with the instructions for zanpakuto release and the next passage is the __**Shiki Fuijin**__. Then next to that is the celestial gates and then it continues on with several shadow related jutsus.'_

His tenant looked over the passage and smirked.

**Interesting. The way you arranged the passage, this is the incantation for the youki release.**

Naruto raised his eyebrows as he looked through the passage. The way it was written was curiously different from the other ones. It had a pattern in a way that the sealing language actually made sense and he could read it like any other book. The newfound discovery made a conclusion in his mind.

'_The seal is a language when written carefully. If everything has a word related pattern, then it could be read. When read, it could also be a magical incantation of some sort. The effects would be definitely arcane.'_

Naruto was pondering on how it would affect him until he realized something he missed from his tenant.

'_Wait a minute, Youki release? As in demonic power type?'_

His fiery tenant grinned and then replied,

**Youki release meaning I can have more influence over your chakra. What this means is that when you activate the release, you would be able to convert your chakra into youki. This will allow you to perform Youkai or Hanyou jutsus. Normally, humans are not able to perform these types of techniques because of the strain it would put on their body. But if you, a jinchuuriki, can release the normal parameters that create that strain, then it would be just like performing any other jutsu. But I warn you, this release is not without restrictions for a reason. Even the purest of souls get engulfed once they tap into it.**

Naruto once again pondered hard as he lay in his bed in just his underwear. It would be a great risk, but like every risk, there is a price to pay. He didn't want to become power hungry and gain power like Sasuke. It would be dishonorable to Kami for him to lose sight of his reason for obtaining power. Instead of taking this risk, he decided to leave it be for now. He still had to understand the language and where it stemmed from. Luckily, he had the entire day to do so since it would be a while before he is assigned to his team.

As the young blonde slumbered, he was in his dream world once more. There he stood on the yondaime hokage's head in his kitsune form. He looked over the midnight scenery and wondered how come it's always night time here? The bright full moon in its glowing luminescence hovered clearly over the entire village. Every house and building was covered in its soft glow as the stars twinkled in the sky and the universe of his world seemed to revolve around this place. Though most hated him, he was too kind and pure to hate them back. He understood the pain they felt during that day because he too lost many precious people during the battle with Aizen.

It was solemn in his dream world as silence encompassed the village. No one was outside except him. Everyone seemed to be either missing or indoors. Somehow, he was rooted to his spot and could not leap down onto the ground below. Naruto tried and failed several times before he stopped.

"It's pretty useless to move from here. So what's the purpose of me being here on this monument if I can't go down?"

Naruto knew that he was on top of the monument and was there because he was to protect the village. But if he couldn't go down to their level, then how is he supposed to protect them? The kitsune then looked up and was amazed at what he saw. It was Soul Society. It was then he got the answer. He was the medium between the physical plane of his world and the spiritual one. His purpose was clear. The reasons he died and became a shinigami and the reason he was reborn in Konoha once more as a shinobi.

"If I am to protect this village…this world…I need to have endured hell itself so that others can say 'it was a cinch for me'. I endured sadness and overcame it. I endured pain and conquered it…at least to a certain degree. I overcame loss many times. Though it hurt more than everything else, it was worth defeating it. Weakness holds no real meaning anymore since I overcame those odds. I fought and won over my own soul and faced death itself. Yet despite all that I conquered, I'm alone. Then again…the hero is always alone. He's always one step forward and never a step back. That's why they are so unreachable. It's a lonely road to be a hero, but when your journey is done, everyone else is much happier. Selflessness and love and commitment are the keys to becoming a hero."

The kitsune looked back down upon the endless night that was Konoha. As he sat there perched, something…or someone crept up behind the white fox. He shivered since he knew that there was no way to defend himself from his glued place. A hot wind began blowing down his neck. He was even more frightened. He never noticed what was there in the darkness as it crept this close to him. Terror racked his heart. He had never felt so terrified in his entire life. The breath that blew down his neck managed to enter his nose. It was the smell of sulfur and surprisingly, the Konoha Fire Lily that grows all year round. He then felt a smooth scaly object entwine around his tails.

'_Oh great. Just my luck, a snake…I really hate snakes.'_

A shadow then loomed over the blonde as he glanced at the form of the shadow. It had wings.

'_Even better…it flies…now this is officially a nightmare.'_

He then shivered even more as his blood ran cold. It ran too cold in fact, for him to turn his neck around. He could feel the breath get closer and closer as he felt claws wrap around his stomach. The slithery serpentine had wings, sulfur for breath and claws. Naruto was scared even more since he knew exactly what was behind him—a fire breathing dragon. The kitsune swallowed hard thinking it was the end. The neck of the dragon was felt on the kitsune's left shoulder as the breath grew closer to his ears. Much to his surprise, the dragon wasn't going to devour him like he thought. It was in fact, hugging him and caressing him as he felt what was presumably the head upon his shoulder. When he managed to regain his senses, he looked at the dragon directly in the eye. The dragon was charcoal black in color with several purple and blue streaks that tattooed its body and shone in the moonlight. It was a beautiful creature. It was slender yet its ferocity was still felt. But even more surprising was its lavender eyes that gazed upon the blonde with love. Once again, the wise old Naruto got another stroke of wisdom.

"Even a hero needs someone to watch his back. I'm glad to know you have my back. Who might you be May I ask o great dragon of the night?"

The dragon the opened its mouth and muttered,

"I am Kuro Enkouryuu to you…Shiro Raikitsune."

The velvet dragon's voice was sweet and innocent yet confidence emerged from the pure voice. But unlike any other voice, it had a hint of femininity in it making the kitsune grow in his curiosity of the dragon. Suddenly, he could feel his body move to face the great dragon. Though it was naturally larger than him, somehow it never tried to impose its size and coiled itself when the kitsune faced it. In fact, it was somehow nervous of the kitsune.

'_A dragon that's nervous of me…weird. If my kitsune form is my soul's affinity, then the black dragon must represent the soul affinity of my guardian.'_

"Tell me, why are you, a great and powerful being, is afraid of me? I'm actually as friendly as I look. So why are you afraid of me?"

The dragon was even more nervous as it bowed its head shame. The dragon, who still wished not to face him directly, replied.

"Because we are equals."

The kitsune tilted his head in confusion at the statement.

"Because we are two sides of the same coin. You are the head as I am the tail. You are the one to protect them while I am to protect you. We both share the same path and are equally the same though we differ in personality as night and day. Because I am as dark as the night, I cannot be seen in this place. It is only possible for you to see me if I approach on my own since you were too busy to notice me in the background. I hope that I am not imposing you and being a burden."

The kitsune shook his head and protested.

"I doubt that. For a great and powerful being, you sure are meek. But I like that about you. You're meekness is one of your greatest assets. Somehow I know you from somewhere. Maybe in the real world I'll get to meet you."

"You already have. But it took you time for you to notice me. That's why I had to move so you can see who has been helping you and supporting you in the shadows. In the academy, I was the one who gave you hints on how to do what they tried to teach us when you could not get it right away. I always picked up your lost weapons and brought them back to your apartment. And in the future, I was the one who…"

The velvet dragon stopped leaving another curious look on the kitsune's face. He inspected the dragon with great care. It was then he realized who the dragon was. He smiled lovingly and said,

"I wonder how long it will take us to get close enough to truly know each other…Ryuhime."

The dragon smiled back as it approached the kitsune and coiled around him with its head leaning on his left shoulder. The kitsune in turn leaned his head upon the dragon's smooth black head as he rested knowing that everything was going to be alright.

As the young blonde slept and dreamt peacefully, somewhere in the sandy deserts on the outskirts of Sunagakure, a figure clothed in black kimono and hakama emerged from a tear in the dimension of time and space. As the dimensional rift closed behind him, he inspected his surroundings and let out a sigh of relief.

"For a second there, I thought I ended up in Hueco Mundo again. Urahara-san sure knows how to create dimensional portals. Anyway, I'd best find out where he could possibly be for all our sakes."

The orange haired teen said as he blurred out of his position leaving a trail of sand in his wake.

'Naruto-kun, the taicho of the ninth division. The self proclaimed Golden leaf. I hope that you're safe. I really hope you're here. We all miss you."

The orange haired youth said as he dashed along not knowing were to look. But these events all marked one thing, Naruto's life was a catalyst of change. He may not know it, but he changed a lot of people with his aura of charisma and purity. Because of him, Soul Society was never the same. And now his presence burns wildly in Konoha with the return of the golden leaf.

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It's done. It's pretty short and not much happened, but it should start the next arcs before his battle with the elemental gods. I am officially burned out. But I'm glad that it's done. The next one will be a confrontation and more insight on Naruto's training in Konoha and the selection of the teams. Maybe I can squeeze in how he and his team passed. Anyway, till the next update, Ja ne!


	14. Flame of Love

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: I am terribly sorry for the slow update. I tend to become single-minded when I start watching an anime. And the culprit for my slow update would be the anime Shakugan no Shana. It gave me inspiration for the next few chapters of this fic.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 14**

_**Flames of Love**_

The next morning in Konoha…

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Morning had fully risen as it painted the sky with its bright radiance of light. As the people of Konoha take to another day of toil in their lives, Naruto was busy training in his old training grounds. Although it would be better to train back in training ground forty-four where he lived, he could not afford to give away his position since his training there has created a shroud of suspicion among the nearby shinobi patrolling close to it.

The sweat on his brow and half naked body showed how much he had trained in that area as he made another downward vertical swing with his handmade bokken. Around the young blonde were trees used as pin cushions for his kunai and shuriken, several fallen trees indicating the use of jutsus, and several smashed rocks indicated by the rubble left behind. If one where to look now, they would see what looked like the aftermath of a battle and the young blonde that stood in the center was the survivor.

Naruto then dropped his bokken as he too dropped onto the sweat dampened grass. He was panting hard from a tough morning of training. He felt his strength slowly return as he slowly dozed off to sleep. When the young blonde opened his eyes, he saw that it was dark. He could smell the fowl odor of fur, sulfur and water in the humid atmosphere. He had once again entered his mindscape. Naruto got up from the wet sewage floor of his mind and looked into the bars where his furry friend lay. The Kyuubi gazed back at his master with his crimson slit eyes.

**Gaki, as much as I'd like to see you train hard for the upcoming battles, it would be wise if you stopped to listen once in a while.**

The young blonde looked at the fiery kitsune with curiosty.

"But I need to train hard for the chuunin exams and for the battle with the elemental gods. I'm not sure if I can stand a chance against them if they decide to fight. Remember, they have an army guarding them. We can't involve the ninth division or the shinobi village for the battle with them."

The young blonde had his point but his tenant saw how exhausted his master was. For the past six years, he has been pushing his limitations in chakra and reiatsu control. Alongside the control exercises, he has been practicing the jutsus, kido, and shunpo as well as his taijutsu and zanjutsu. If that wasn't enough stress as it is, currently, he has been practicing control of his youki and learning how to gain control of the balanced energy in between chakra and reiatsu. Overall, he was exhausted both mentally and physically.

Naruto's fiery tenant was both annoyed and irritated at his master's current state and voiced out to him.

**Even if you do train hard, what use is it to drain yourself to a near death state every single time? How do you expect to save your loved ones if you end up killing yourself first?**

Naruto chuckled at the kitsune's well made counterpoint. After letting his amusement escape, he then answered,

"Alright, I understand, I'll rest more. I just can't let myself stay lax if I want to become strong enough to save my precious people. But while were at it, lets recap everything we've done so far."

Kyuubi then sat back down in his cage as his nine tails swayed in the background. The red mane fox let out a sigh as his master sat down on the wet floor with his arms crossed and his face in his serious mode as they both eyed each other in absolute concentration. The Kyuubi was the first to break the deathly silence.

**For the past six years, we've trained hard in chakra and reiatsu control which has become second nature to you.**

The young blonde nodded in acknowledgement, urging his tenant to continue as he lent his ears.

**Included in those six years were your basic jutus and some low grade kido to avert possible suspicions. Part of those jutsus you practiced secretly, were your elemental jutus as well. Though we didn't touch up on genjutsu since it really won't be necessary yet, we did manage to finish your own original jutsu that your father never achieved.**

"Don't forget that it isn't the only original jutsu I've created. But that should sum up everything we've learned for the past six years."

Naruto said to his fury tenant. Kyuubi then continued his assessment as the young blonde paid heed once more on Kyuubi's words.

**Currently you've been training in youki control and your higher level jutsus and kido. But you have yet to bring out my zanpakuto form or find the correct balance of chakra and reiatsu to create your fusion techniques. At the very least, you could do that.**

Naruto sighed as he bowed his head in defeat. Until now, he had been unable to bring out Kyuubi in his zanpakuto form. He knew it would be a difficult task since he was trying to bring to reality an ethereal weapon out into the physical world, but he never expected this much of a difficulty.

"You know Kyuubi, it would be hard for you to appear in the real world in your zanpakuto form because it would mean materializing my reiatsu based sword into the real world were chakra is predominant. It's actually as difficult as it sounds."

Both master and tenant were stumped at how to perform such an act. It was hard enough to channel enough reiatsu in the living world, but to materialize it so that it retains a tangible form without restrictions, is quite the challenge. Unless Naruto manages to find the energy balance between chakra and reiatsu soon, materializing his zanpakuto would be a far cry.

Time had past for quite a while now as morning settled in the sky. Naruto took note of the time and gathered his clothing. But before he took off to leave, he performed a simple fire jutsu and burned his bokken till only ashes remained to flutter in the wind. Even the very equipment he used could leave traces and he did not want the ANBU or any shinigami to find out about his current location.

When the young blonde left his home and began strolling through the streets of Konoha, he remembered that he needed to have his picture taken for his official papers that signify he is a registered shinobi of Konoha. He quickly returned home, took the necessary papers as he filled them up on his way to the photographer.

Normally he would have made a scandalous prankster picture for his official photo, but this time, he knew it was serious business to be a shinobi. So he just gave his foxy grin with a 'thumbs down' gesture as his photo. He then took to the academy and handed his papers to the waiting Hokage and took his seat in front of the old warrior.

Sarutobi looked through the form briefly and occasionally eyed the blonde. The old Hokage wasn't a fool and could see through the fake smile of Naruto. The young blonde was determined by the flaring azure color that dominated his eyes. Sarutobi knew that something had changed in him. Those once deep cerulean eyes of sadness now had a fiery determination pouring out from them. Sarutobi sighed as he looked at the young blonde.

'_Naruto, I don't understand how you could have changed so much, but something is definitely amiss here. Whatever happened to you Naruto? I have no choice but to pry deeper. I hope you will forgive me for my intrusion.'_

"It looks like everything is in order Naruto."

The old Hokage said to the young blonde.

"I'm surprised that you actually took a picture that wasn't very prank-like."

Naruto smiled again as he scratched his head and replied,

"It's an official document so I need to be as serious as I can. After all, I'm a genin now."

Sarutobi smiled at the words of the young blonde. At least he was sure that Naruto was maturing in the right direction. He then put down the paper on his desk and stamped it with his seal of approval. He then ordered the jounin next to him to have it added to the list of genin teams in his office. When the jounin finally left, Sarutobi then placed his elbows on his desk and leaned his chin on his hands as he eyed the young blonde carefully. Naruto could easily see where this was going and dropped his smile as he curiously asked,

"Oji-san, what's the matter?"

Sarutobi then smiled once more.

"Oh, nothing Naruto. Actually, I wanted to know how you've been doing lately. Have you been training hard? You are after all a genin now."

Naruto then smiled as he gave the Hokage a determined look and leaned his right arm on the backrest.

"I'm doing great oji-san! I've been training as hard as I can so I can take your place soon!"

Sarutobi chuckled at that bold statement.

"That's great to know Naruto. Maybe when I have time off I can see you train. But really…"

The old Hokage begun to eye the young blonde seriously.

"How are you doing? Ever since you witnessed the Uchiha massacre, you've been changing a lot. Are you alright Naruto? Is something bothering you?"

Naruto looked down on the floor as he thought hard on what to say. This action of course caused the old Hokage to soften his approach as he thought he struck a nerve.

"I'm really sorry for bringing this up Naruto. I've just been—"

"Worried about me?"

The young blonde looked at the old Hokage with confidence after finishing the old man's words.

"Thanks for worrying about me oji-san. But I'm fine. Actually, ever since that thing with the Uchiha happened I really thought hard if I still wanted to become a shinobi. Well, I think you can see my decision now."

Sarutobi still kept his inquisitive gaze as he replied,

"But even a shinobi needs to let his feelings out. After witnessing something like that, it would be very traumatic for the person. Are you sure you're fine? I'm always here if ever you need to talk about anything Naruto."

Naruto didn't break his confident gaze though he could see that Sarutobi was prying hard for the information.

"I'm really fine oji-san! Stop being such a worrywart. I can take care of myself! I'm not a baby anymore, I'm a genin of Konoha!"

The young blonde said as he flailed his arms around to exaggerate his reply. Sarutobi knew that he wasn't going to budge one bit. If he pressed any harder, it might bring out some things that Naruto wouldn't want to give willingly and strain their relationship. The old Hokage nodded in defeat

'_I guess Naruto needs more time. But I do hope he does open up to someone soon. And I hope that that person will accept him wholeheartedly. I think I know just the team to place him in! It's very well balanced and perfect for him to work in without much worries.'_

Amidst the conversation, Naruto felt another presence close to the room. He knew who it was and still went on as if he weren't there in the first place. And right on cue the door slid open revealing none other than Konohamaru charging recklessly at the Hokage with shuriken in hand.

"Oji-san fight me! The title of the Fifth Hokage belongs to me Konohamaru"

Konohamaru took his shuriken and was about to make his blow until he tripped over his scarf and fell flat on his face. Ebisu followed after and screamed when he saw the fallen form of Konohamaru.

'_Some things never change. Looks like I have to get his butt into gear as well.'_

"Is this a trap?"

The brown haired boy said as he rubbed the hurting area of his face.

"Are you alright Konohamaru-sama? There are no traps by the way."

The blue clothed man said as he adjusted his black, round shades. Konohamaru stood up and upon childish instinct, walked over to the young blonde and blamed him for his fall. Naruto calmly picked him up by the collar as he eyed him menacingly. Ebisu panicked at the situation his student was in.

"What do you think you are doing? He is the grandson of the great Third Hokage!"

Naruto briefly looked at the shade wearing man and back at Konohamaru. Konohamaru inwardly smirked at his luck.

"What's the matter? Why don't you hit me if you can? You're no match for a grandson of a Hokage!" _'Good…just like all the others. He won't hit me. I'm the Hokage's grandson there's no way that a coward like him would ever dare to…'_

"Like I care about that baka…"

Konohamaru's pride cost him dearly as Naruto elbowed his head. Konohamaru fell to the floor face flat once again leaving a panicked Ebisu and a sighing Hokage as Naruto calmly walked out the same way he came in.

'_I knew my grandson would learn his lesson one of these days. But of all people Naruto was the one to teach him that lesson. Well he had it coming to him and Kami-sama decided that it would be the former Hokage's son to carry it out. Minato would be laughing his hair off at the irony of it. But hopefully, Naruto will be just like you Minato.'_

Sarutobi crossed his arms and nodded at that thought.

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Naruto walked through the streets with his hands in his pocket as he made his way towards the Konoha Library. He still had a lot of training to catch up with and wished not to slack off. The young blonde went on his merry way without a care in the world. Of course, it didn't mean his senses weren't sharp at all. While the young blonde traveled the streets, a shady figure kept following him in the shadows. The young blonde casually turned at the next corner and made a clone of for the shady figure to follow as the original shunpo'd his way to the Library just in time for the shady figure to see the clone walking. The trick was flawlessly performed and worked perfectly as the shady figure did not notice the sudden body double.

* * *

The clone's misadventure

* * *

The shady figure kept creeping in the shadows as it followed the clone. The body double kept on track and walked at a steady pace despite knowing it was followed. The clone kept moving until it halted at one alleyway and turned around and screamed,

"Don't follow me! What do you want?!"

He said to the badly camouflaged young boy who stuck to the wall. The boy didn't flinch thinking that his disguise still had its effect.

"Um, that's really obvious."

The clone said as his face twitched in annoyance.

The young boy dropped his wooden fence painted paper and smirked causing the blonde to sweatdrop.

"Nice job detecting me. I should have expected it from the guy I've heard rumors about."

The young boy walked up to the blonde and pointed at him as he said,

"I don't mind being your follower."

Naruto sweatdropped once more at the antics of Konohamaru. Inwardly though, he was laughing his heart out at the scene that unfolded before him. The young blonde knew that Konohamaru's determination was real and decided to play a little prank with him to lighten the mood.

"Well if you're going to be my follower, you'd best catch up to me and work hard!"

With that, the clone ran off with Konohamaru giving chase. He ran to and fro without speeding up too much to lose him or allowing him to catch up. Konohamaru never had run this fast in his entire life.

"Boss! You're moving too fast!"

"Don't complain if you want to follow me around!"

The game of cat and mouse kept dragging on until they both arrived at a nearby forest. The Naruto clone stopped at the clearing and waited until Konohamaru finally caught up. He panted as he collapsed face first into the blanket of grass that paved the field.

"How…do…you…run…so…fast…"

Konohamaru huffed.

"Well those laps in the Academy do wonders for your stamina and chakra."

Naruto said as he smiled.

Konohamaru sat up still panting. Naruto ran much faster than Konohamaru could ever catch up to that it took all of Konohamaru's strength to at least keep the young blonde in sight.

"Why so down? Don't tell me you gave up after all that? We just passed by three corners, jumped over five trash cans, dove under twenty passing merchants, evaded fifty of those merchants for accidentally wrecking their stuff on the way, and ran around fifty five times till they lost track of us."

The brown haired boy pouted at the young blonde. Naruto sweatdropped at what he just said when he saw the boy's expression. The clone then reached out his hand and pulled up Konohamaru to his feet. The brown haired boy tried really hard but was thoroughly tired from all that running and it was easy to see. Naruto took this opportunity to teach the young boy his first original jutsu.

"Since were all warmed up, how about I show you something cool?"

Konohamaru brightened up at the sound of learning a new jutsu. He nodded and paid attention carefully at the young blonde. Naruto then placed his hands together in a familiar seal and shouted,

"**Henge**!"

Naruto transformed into a naked female version of himself with smoke covering the breasts and womanhood of his female form. Konohamaru's nose began to bleed as he fell backwards to meet the grassy floor once again. When Naruto returned back to his original form, Konohamaru livened up once more as he said in excitement,

"Boss, that was cool! Can you teach me how to do that?!"

"Sure! It's called **Oiroke no Jutsu**. All you have to do is imagine a beautiful babe and transform into her."

Konohamaru gave it a shot as he molded his chakra for the technique. When he shouted 'Henge', he ended up transforming into a fat and ugly female counterpart of himself.

"Konohamaru…you've never seen a naked woman before have you?"

The brown haired boy shook his head. Naruto then explained how to perform the technique properly and the basics of the perverted jutsu. Konohamaru tried again and again all to no avail. The pair then took a break near a vending machine as they sat down on a log nearby and relaxed.

"By the way Konohamaru, Why are you so obsessed with Hokage-ji-san?"

Konohamaru frowned as he remembered the reason.

"Oji-san gave me the name Konohamaru. He took it off from the name of this village. But even though it's a name that everyone should have heard many times, no one calls me by that name. Whenever anyone sees or calls me, they only see the grandson of the Hokage. No one recognizes me as an individual."

He paused as he thought hard upon that subject while Naruto looked at him in concern.

"I hate that…so…so I want the title of Hokage right now."

He said as he clenched his fist. Naruto was not pleased by what he heard. He then crossed his arms and said,

"Who's going to recognize an idiot like you?"

"What?!"

Konohamaru looked at the blonde in confusion.

"It's not a title that a kid can carry so easily."

The vexed Konohamaru stood up in angst at the pre-teen who he looked up as his boss. Naruto didn't show surprise or flinched at the sudden outburst of the angry Konohamaru.

"It's not easy. You keep saying 'Hokage', 'Hokage'. If you want the title so badly…"

"What?"

Konohamaru responded. He waited until Naruto made his infamous foxy grin and eyed the brown haired boy with his eyes now burning a cyan color. Determination poured out of the young blonde as Konohamaru subconsciously backed away one step in fear and awe at the immense dtermination the young blonde emitted. Naruto then sharpened his gaze as he said,

"You need to defeat me first."

Konohamaru was speechless, but determined nonetheless. And as luck would have it, Ebisu appeared just in time to do 'damage control' of the situation.

"I found you!"

Both Konohamaru and Naruto eyed the man as they instinctively got into a defensive stance.

"Now Konohamaru-sama, let us go home."

Ebisu said as he approached them.

"NO!"

Konohamaru shouted back before throwing his fists up.

"I'm going to defeat the geezer right now and get the title of Hokage right now! Don't bother me!"

Ebisu failed to hear his words as he slowly walked towards them to forcibly take Konohamaru away. He began to lecture Konohamaru as he approached.

"A Hokage is a title you receive when you understand the principles of morality, knowledge, loyalty, getting along with family, and can use more than one thousand techniques…"

Konohamaru did the only thing he could do, perform the first jutsu he learned from Naruto.

"**Henge**!"

Konohamaru transformed perfectly into an older, hot, naked female version of himself.

"Take that! **Oiroke no jutsu**!"

After Konohamaru transformed back to his real form, Ebisu stood as still as a statue. He was jawdropped at the newfound 'power' of his student and how perverse it was. Konohamaru on the other hand was confused.

"What? It didn't work. But it worked properly when Naruto-nii-san did it to me."

Ebisu blushed in embarrassment and anger at what he just saw and heard.

"What an indecent technique! I am a gentleman! I will never fall for a technique as base as that. Konohamaru-sama, you're just going to get dumber and dumber if you hang around him!"

Ebisu said as he tried to yank at the scarf of the brown haired boy from his spot. He continued his rants of Naruto as he said,

"The quickest path to becoming Hokage is to listen to me! Now let's go home."

Konohamaru resisted but despite his efforts, he was slowly being pulled from his spot. It was a one sided tug of war until a cry was heard.

"**Kage Bunshin no jutsu**!"

Thirty clones appeared beside the clone that performed it. Konohamaru was shocked at the sheer number of the clones that appeared.

"Wow! That's amazing!"

Ebisu let go of Konohamaru and adjusted his shades.

"This is silly. I am an elite teacher even if I do not look like one. I am different from Mizuki."

Ebisu calmly approached the large squadron of Narutos. All of them tensed as Ebisu prepared for battle. Naruto made the first move.

"**Henge**!"

All the clones shouted in unison. Smoke engulfed them and when it finally subsided, it revealed the thirty clones have transformed into naked female versions of themselves.

Ebisu was shocked as his jaw dropped and lost his fighting nerve.

"Ebisu-sama!"

A unison cry of the vixens echoed through the shade wearing man's ears right before they jumped on the helpless man. Ebisu had blood streaming from his nose as he fell back on the hard ground from blood loss. He was defeated in the most embarrassing and perverted way. Naruto then dispersed the remaining clones and grinned at his victory.

"I call it the **Harem no jutsu**!"

After Ebisu's defeat, Konohamaru was burning with anger.

"Kuso! I couldn't even defeat glasses-teacher again! I want the title that will make everyone recognize me, so why?!"

Naruto looked at him and said to him once more.

"It's not that easy."

"What?"

Konohamaru looked at Naruto once more still in confusion.

"You're trying to take the title of Hokage, the ninja that everyone in the village will recognize. I'm sure there will be a lot of unpleasant things, and things that will baffle you. I finally have one person that recognizes me, but it still took a lot of work. You need to be prepared."

Konohamaru was still confused.

"Prepared for …?"

And right on cue, Naruto eyed the brown haired boy with his flaming azure eyes.

"To be able to receive the title of Hokage, which everyone will look up to and the fact there is no shortcut to become one."

Konohamaru was wide eyed in astonishment before he gazed at the blonde with determination in his eyes. The brown haired boy then turned around and said,

"Lecturing me like you're all that? I quit being your follower…"

Suddenly a kunai shot out behind Konohamaru and landed on the top of the tallest tree in that forest. It easily stood fifty meters. Konohamaru looked back and saw it was Naruto who threw it. The young blonde smirked.

"Good! From this day on you make your own path! Until you're able to grab that kunai from that tree, then I will be your boss and Hokage and you will do as I say. But if you do grab it, then show it to me and fight me with it for your freedom. I will be a ninja starting tomorrow so it will be hard for me to see you again. Until then…Ja ne!"

Naruto then waved his hand goodbye and dispersed himself allowing the wind to drive the smoke into nonexistence. Konohamaru then saluted the wind and turned to look at the black blade that shined in the setting sun.

'_I will take that kunai Naruto-nii-san. And when I do, I will fight you for the title of Hokage. Just you wait! I'll show you and everyone else what I'm made of!'_

Konohamaru began climbing the tree and stumbled but he never gave up. Sarutobi who was watching everything unfold before his eyes from the crystal ball smiled at the determination of Konohamaru and the change in attitude.

'_The real path to become a ninja has only begun.'_

Sarutobi then left the room to attend his remaining duties for the day…catching up on his reading. He pulled out an infamous orange book and giggled pervertedly in between pages.

* * *

Original Naruto's misadventure

* * *

The original Naruto **shunpo'd **his way through and finally entered through the double doors of the Konoha Library. He saw stacks and shelves of books lined up and many people seated or looking through the several shelves in search of the knowledge they seek. He was about to ask the librarian for the information he needed until he remembered the last time he wasn't allowed inside and rejected completely.

_Flashback_

"_Excuse me…"_

_A young Naruto asked the head librarian at the desk. She turned around and saw the young blonde._

"_AHH! D-demon child! Get out of here before you taint this place with your evil!"_

_Naruto was utterly confused._

"_But I need to get in and look up for some help about jutsus."_

"_What?! The demon wants to learn how to kill us! In the name of the Hokage, I will not allow you to enter this place for a demon child like you to learn how to slaughter us again!"_

_The head librarian began squealing profanities at the young blonde who just backed away. Soon, several people in the library began to throw the books at him until he ran out with bruises all over his head and a wounded eye._

_End of Flashback_

Naruto turned on his heel and left through the same doors. Many glares accompanied him as some who exited with him and intentionally bumped him causing him to land on the puddle of mud just at the steps.

"Ha! That oughta teach you from steppin' in _human_ territory fox demon!"

The man spat at the blonde and left on his merry way. Naruto wiped the spit of his face and performed a one handed jutsu and whispered,

"**Suiton, Mizukei no jutsu**."

He then used the saliva and whipped the man's belt off causing him to fluster in embarrassment as several female onlookers laughed at his predicament. When he looked back to see the one who performed the dastardly deed, he saw no one.

'_That should take care of him. Now, on to business.'_

The blonde mentally said as he entered through the ventilation once more in his fox form. As he peered through the vent opening, he poured chakra to his eyes. His vision extended tenfold as he easily saw even the tiniest of dust particles and flakes shake of from a person's hair on the other end of the library thirty meters away. With his enhanced vision, he scoped through the racks until he found his desired books.

Lightning began to erupt from his body until it leaped out in seven directions and ran through the pipelines until they jumped to the electrical ones. When they reached the area where the books were located, the tiny currents of electricity dispersed in to the ground before rematerializing as clones of the original. The clones then disguised themselves as regular civilians.

'_This is actually quite handy. Ok, clones, search through the books for information on the ancient sealing technique and what language it is. Search what you can about chakra, reiatsu and youki. And finally, everything you can know about the elemental gods and shinigamis.'_

The white kitsune mentally said to his clones. Kyuubi on the other hand was curious about his master's actions.

**What about jutsus? Aren't you going to search for some in here?**

'_No. The Konoha Library doesn't have jutsus aside from the basics. They aren't stupid enough to allow the public knowledge of high level jutsus. Besides, we already have jutsus from the scroll and the black book. That reminds me, I better get the book that we stole from the Archives.'_

Naruto then molded reiatsu until it materialized into the black book that was dearer than his life. He flipped through the pages until he found the inscription and released the sealed book within his black book.

Each of the kitsunes had their tasks set. The original would look through the book about the ancient sealing technique. One of his clones would look through the information concerning the sealing technique while another on the language used. The third one would search through the books about chakra. The fourth clone would look through what he can about reiatsu and the fifth one about youki. The last two would look through information about the shinigamis and elemental gods. Naruto didn't expect much, but he knew that he was bound to find something through these halls of pages.

In about an hour of research, the clone working on chakra dispersed itself allowing the original to absorb all the data.

'_Obviously chakra was the first to go. I now understand chakra to a deeper aspect. Looks like I don't need to ask Kakashi-sensei about the yin and yang of chakra anymore. But now that I understand, it makes making fusion techniques much harder with all the new possibilities.'_

Naruto used his tails to write the knowledge down in his black book. Within the next hour, the next clone dispersed himself allowing the second wave of information to sink in.

'_Not much info was found concerning youki. Aside from the fact that youki is harmful to human beings for obvious reasons, very little was written and researched. This needs to be written down as well.'_

The next wave of knowledge sank in after three grueling hours. The day dragged on as Naruto continued writing in his black book.

'_Like one elaborated lie, the next set of info sucks. They know next to nothing about shinigamis. But we can't blame them though. Since there are no hollows in this world, shinigamis are scarcely seen.'_

Soon, another clone dispersed itself.

'_So they know about the elemental gods. But most of the info I gathered about them revolved around folklore. It's not exact, but at least I have a vague idea about where they could possibly be located. And from the way they were described, it means I have a huge battle ahead of me.'_

By the time sunset had come, another wave of intelligence poured in as two clones simultaneously dispersed. Many were already leaving the library at this time so Naruto had to quicken his research as the librarian began inspecting the library for lying books and scrolls.

'_Nothing about reiatsu. That goes to show how limited their knowledge of Soul Society is. There was nothing as well concerning the sealing technique aside from its legendary name, Kaikin.'_

The librarian was now headed for the location of the last clone after inspecting most of the area. The clone of course sensed this before she was within earshot. He quickly sealed a book into small sheet of paper, rolled it up and placed it inside a pen which he then threw inside the vent where the original caught it with his teeth. Just as the librarian looked through the small table with several open books, the clone had already dispersed himself.

"That was close. But at least I got what I needed. I can read the rest later."

The young blonde said as he walked out of a dark alley. A grumble came from the young blonde's stomach. So the only thing he could do was head over to Ichiraku Ramen. As he passed by, he noticed that aside from the many glares he normally received, he saw several girls whispering to each other as blushes formed on their faces. From what he heard with his sharpened hearing, it made him feel flattered and flushed as he hurried to his favorite ramen stand.

However when he got there, he noticed someone he hasn't seen for the entire day. The young blonde slowly approached and sat down beside a now startled lavender eyed girl.

Of course, both Teuchi and his daughter noticed the young blonde as he entered. A smile formed on their faces as Naruto said,

"Oji-san! I want six beef ramen and three miso ramen!"

Ayame smiled as she took the bowls of ramen to be reheated while Teuchi went to the back room to take out some fresh bowls for the ramen.

Hinata glanced ever so slightly at the blonde before darting her gaze away. She had expected him to come, but so suddenly was something she wasn't prepared for.

'_Naruto-kun is here. What do I do now?'_

The young blonde looked at the girl beside him and smiled.

"So Hinata-chan, How are you?"

The Hyuga heiress blushed as she twiddled her fingers and gazed at her reflection in the half finished ramen bowl.

"I'm fine Naruto-kun are you? I saw you yesterday with Mizuki-sensei."

Naruto chuckled as he leaned in a bit closer and said,

"I'm doing fine! Take a look at my forehead."

Hinata complied and smiled as she saw the metal plate shine dimly from the light of the setting sun.

"Congratulations Naruto-kun! But I thought you didn't pass when I saw you by the swing without your hitai-ate? How did you pass?"

Hinata said to the young blonde. Naruto continued smiling as he happily told her about the incident.

"Actually, I didn't pass. But then Mizuki-sensei said that there was a way for me to pass. It was a trap all along. He told me to get the Forbidden Scroll and wait in a clearing in the forests of Konoha. But then Iruka-sensei found me in the clearing and Mizuki attacked us. I then beat the shit out of Mizuki-teme and Hokage-ji-san made me an official genin for returning the scroll."

Hinata was delighted to know how brave and strong her long time crush was.

"I'm glad that you passed Naruto-kun."

She said as a blush formed on her face. Naruto took note of this as he gave her a charming smile to which she looked away in embarrassment. Ayame and Teuchi laughed at the cute couple before them as Ayame set down the bowls of ramen before Naruto.

"Itadakimasu!"

The young blonde said as he slurped the ramen. Hinata then began to finish hers. She was delighted that Naruto was there beside her. She mustered all her courage to get here and wait for him in this stand and now all her patience paid off as the young blonde happily ate beside her.

"So Hinata-chan, I never expected you to be here all by yourself."

The young blonde said as he looked at the lavender eyed girl. Hinata finished her bowl and said,

"I was going to congratulate you yesterday after the exam. But when I saw you without the hitai-ate, I was worried and waited for you here until I had to go home early."

Naruto looked at her in astonishment. She actually waited for him here despite her shy and timid nature. He looked at Ayame looking for answers to which the ramen girl replied,

"It's true Naruto-kun. She waited here for you until a boy with long brown hair came to escort her home. Was that your brother Hinata-chan?"

She said as she looked at Hinata. The Hyuga heiress gazed back and shook her head.

"No, he's my cousin Neji-nii-san."

Naruto looked at her curiously.

"So he's your cousin. Does he stay at your house or does he live somewhere else?"

"He lives elsewhere. The branch family is rarely allowed to stay in the main family's houses aside from special occasions."

Naruto nodded at her statement as he finished another bowl of ramen.

"Special occasions like the appointing of an heir or marriage right? Boy, it sounds like some old caste system I kept reading about in the academy."

The young blonde said as he rubbed his chin.

"It is."

The Hyuga heiress said with a frown. Naruto knew where this was going and decided to make his move. He took her two hands in his as his flaming azure eyes lovingly met hers. She blushed bright as a tomato at what he was doing.

'_Na-na-Naruto-kun's holding my h-hands…am I dreaming? No, this isn't a dream, he's really holding my hands and gazing at me. Please don't look at me like that Naruto-kun…I can't hold myself together like this.'_

Hinata was about to look away until Naruto spoke up.

"Hina-chan…"

Hinata paid close attention to his voice as did the Teuchi and Ayame. The Hyuga heiress' heart fluttered and beat wildly as she felt his warm palms. They were calloused, but all that mattered to her was that he was holding her. She didn't know what was keeping her together, but she resolved herself to see this through as the young blonde began to open his lips once more.

"I could tell by your expression that you don't want to talk about it. But if ever you need to, I'll always be here for you. I'm actually flattered that you waited for me even now. I wish there was something I can give in return."

The young blonde blushed as he looked down sheepishly.

"It's alright Naruto-kun. You don't have to give me anything in return…"

The young blonde immediately placed his finger upon her lips as she flustered in the color beet red once more. Naruto then reached in his pocket with his free hand and released his other hand. He then cupped her hands and took out his hand from his pocket and placed what looked like five seeds in her soft white skinned palms.

"I know it isn't much but I really want to repay you for your kindness all these years. They're seeds of the Konoha Fire Lily. What's great about these seeds is that they bloom to become the most beautiful flower in all of Konoha. They don't grow normally like other plants do because where they grow and what their fed dictates how they will look like when they bloom. They are special plants found only in Konoha because they don't have to live off water. Instead, they truly grow by living off fire. The hotter the flame, the bigger and more beautiful the flower will become. And the better its fruit will be."

Hinata cupped the seeds and placed her hand on her heart as she thanked him. After the meal, Naruto strolled alongside her to escort her home as his clone with Konohamaru had just dispersed alerting the young blonde of what had happened today.

The cute couple kept walking along the street talking about sweet nothings and what would happen the next day.

'_I'm here with him again. I'm walking with him on the way home. It feels like I'm on a date with him. I never intended for this to happen, but I'm glad it did. To think that I would be with him for the rest of the night…Kami-sama, thank you for bringing him here to me. I've never been happier.'_

The Hyuga heiress mentally said to herself. Naruto, on the other hand, had thoughts of his own flutter in his mind.

'_Little by little Hina-chan. I will tell you everything. I don't know if you'll accept me for who I am after you know…but just like in my dream, I will always watch over you and take care of you and love you for the rest of my life here and in the afterworld. I want you to know me just as much as I want to know of you.'_

Unknowingly to them, their hands had subconsciously held each other as they passed the next corner.

"Naruto-kun, ano…where did you find these seeds?"

Hinata asked of him. Naruto smiled as he replied,

"I have some growing where I live. At first I tried watering the seeds. After several days, it grew, but it wasn't really healthy. I then accidentally poured some oil on it that I was going to use to cook. At first I panicked since the flowers were already unhealthy looking. But I was surprised when the flowers began to perk up from the oil. I took a closer look and felt the flowers become warm. Then the sunlight began to heat the flowers until they were literarly on fire. I panicked again but when I took a closer look at the plants, they were actually feeding on the flower and grew from it. The fire then subsided leaving the plants to glow and sparks flew in the wind. It was really awesome."

Hinata smiled before asking the young blonde once again.

"You know so much about plants, that's really wonderful. But it must be hard living alone. How do you manage?"

Naruto looked up in the sky before looking back at her and replying,

"Well, it's not so bad when you get used to it."

"But to bravely face every single day alone…you're really amazing Naruto-kun. I wish I was as brave and confident as you."

Naruto then stopped and stood in front of her. He then picked her chin up making their eyes meet. Hinata turned a deep crimson as she stared into his loving eyes.

'_Those burning azure eyes of his…I feel like I'm being consumed by them but in a good way. Those eyes of his…they're not the look of hate…but of love. No Naruto-kun is just being nice. There's no way that he has that sort of feelings for me right? But what if he does? What do I do? What should I…"_

"Hina-chan…"

The Hyuga heiress snapped out of her trance but still kept her blush as she looked at him. He blushed back in return as he gazed deeply into her lavender eyes.

"I'm not as brave as you think. I just act brave until I think I can make it. To be honest, I'm just as scared as you are."

Hinata's eyes widened at what he just said. Naruto, scared? It just didn't make sense to her.

"I know I live alone, and that's what scares me. I am alone. I've always been alone as long as I can remember. That's why I worked hard to earn love because I thought that it was the only way to gain it so that I don't have to be alone."

'_Naruto-kun…'_

The Hyuga heiress' eyes began to water. She understood what he was saying, but somehow he wasn't telling the complete reason.

"Just like those Konoha Fire Lilies, I can't live without the fire that is love. I live upon it. It is my fuel for my existence. To be honest, I find it amazing that you're always so nice to me and always so pure and strong and humble. You may not see it in you but I do because I've known you for six years now. And I admire you for that."

The last sentence struck her heart deep. She just heard something that she thought she could only hear in her dreams.

'_I knew it. I'm dreaming. He's saying that he admires me.'_

"I guess this is the part in my dream where you confess to me and tell me how much you love me. How I wish this was real."

Contrary to what she believes, it was as real as Naruto's hand cupping her cheek. She could feel his calloused hands on her smooth skin and see him lean in closer while his eyes never averted from their gaze. Her heart still fluttered despite her mind fully convinced that it was an illusion. When their faces were just mere inches from each other, Naruto then said the words that would shock her for her entire life.

"You are my inspiration Hina-hime. Because of you, I can continue on living despite the loneliness and pain I face everyday. Whenever I see you, I can really smile because I have such a kind and caring friend like you. I know about your crush on me and that you were the one giving me those tips that you pinned to the wall every time the teachers would refuse to teach me. And you were always so sweet and kind and cute, how could I resist?"

Naruto then leaned in and pecked her on her other cheek. A blush formed on both their faces as she felt a trickle of his saliva from his lips on that cheek. When Naruto finished he then said the next words of impact upon her soul.

"I love you, Hina-hime."

The lavender eyed girl felt her knees give way. She was melting as he released his hand from her and smiled. It was a genuine smile. Her consciousness cracked at that point. She was now unsure if this was still a dream. The young blonde backed away two steps and said,

"I know this is awkward, but I can't tell you now since it's already night time. But I want to tell you everything so that you know me completely. I trust you with my life Hina-hime. And by the way, everything that I said is true. This isn't a dream."

The wind blew as the cold breeze swept by the blonde carrying leaves with it. As it passed by the couple, Naruto smiled once more as he blushed. And when the wind had left them, Naruto was gone. Hinata slowly placed her hand on her cheek and felt the trickle of saliva on it. She then attempted to release the genjutsu all to no avail as nothing happened. It was then she realized what just happened. But before she could fall to her knees, a voice cried out with the sound of hurrying footsteps accompanying it.

"Hinata-sama! Are you alright? Where have you been and why is your hand wet?"

Hinata then looked at her hand with a bit of Naruto's saliva on it. She then looked back at the guard and smiled.

"It's nothing. I accidentally wet my face when I spilled some water on it."

The servant then took out a small napkin and wiped her face and hand as she ushered her inside the compound. Surprisingly, Hinata didn't notice how close she was already to home during her walk with Naruto.

When the guard bid her goodnight, she then dashed to the kitchen and looked for whatever oil that was flammable and a torch. She managed to find some gasoline inside and took out the small barrel and carried it to the backyard. When she saw the small pond there, she then poured the gasoline over the pond until the surface of the water turned dark orange with it. She then threw the seeds she received from Naruto and threw them on the pond. And then she lit the pond with the torch allowing a blazing fire to erupt from the pond.

It was at first a bright radiating yellow, but then the flame died down and changed color into black. The unusual color of the flame indicated that it was being changed by the seeds that began to sprout and take root in the pond. When the flame finally subsided, the pond darkened in color into midnight blue. White sparks would once in a while rise from the pond as it flew in the wind.

The Hyuga heiress smiled as she rubbed the cheek she was kissed in and began to giggle in delight.

"He called me princess. I feel happy and stronger now. He loves me for me. This has been the best day of my life. I will never forget this day for the rest of my entire life."

The young Hyuga heiress was in paradise as she saw the sparks of light rise from the midnight pool. Despite all that she believed, he loved her more than life. He could not last a single day without her and she felt stronger seeing that he loved her just as much as she loved him. It was beyond words to describe the feelings of elation she felt that night for now she no longer had a flickering flame of passion, but a bright one of love because of their love for one another was real and no longer a fantasy. For their love like the Konoha Fire Lily that kindled and grew in her pond, was a fire. It was a beautiful Flame of Love.

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I am really sorry about the huge delay. I had a huge mental block when I was writing this and that made things take a while. But now Naruto has finally confessed and Hinata now has the fire in her eyes. The next chapter will be their team assignments and some of Ichigo's adventures in Naruto's world. I will hurry up in finishing the next chapters quickly to make up for lost time. Anyway, thank you for reading another chapter in Naruto:Death's Second Chance.

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**Suiton, Mizukei no jutsu(Water release: Water whip technique)-** plain and simple. It creates a whip out of water that can slice through objects if desired by the user or grapple objects. The length of the whip is directly proportional to the amount of water and chakra used to create it.


	15. Cunning and Deadly

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: Here is the next chapter enjoy. Don't really know what to say about this one except that Naruto is a lot cleverer than he seems. Cunning plus ability equals deadly.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 15**

_**Cunning and Deadly**_

Another day has come….

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It was another bright day as dawn had ended revealing morning in the deep blue sky. Naruto had just finished his morning training and was preparing for his team assignment.

"Looks like I'll be needing weapons now."

The young blonde strapped on his kunai holsters on his legs and strapped on his utility belt. He swung both his arms down revealing two string attached kunai hidden in his sleeves for his hands to grasp when the situation needed for it.

"Yosh. Now that I know they work, better rummage through my stuff one last time."

The young blonde looked through his belts and pockets before setting out. He had fifty explosive notes, thirty kunai, twenty senbons and ten soldier pills, five scrolls tagged with special colors, some wires and a brush with a full ink cartridge kept in the end of the brush, two collapsed fuuma shuriken, three smoke bombs, a complete first aid kit, his black notebook, and a set of retractable katars. If they weren't all hidden in his attire, he would look like he was preparing for war. The young blonde then inspected himself in his mirror as he strapped on his headband. He was wearing the same attire as when he took the genin exam two days ago.

**Preparing for carnage now are we? As much as I'd like to agree, we don't have any wars coming yet until the Chuunin exams so it really isn't necessary.**

Kyuubi said as he chuckled. Naruto just frowned before he set off to Ichiraku Ramen for breakfast. He sat down at his usual seat and ordered his meal. The fragrance of noodles seeped into his nose. He grabbed his chopsticks at the ready as he eyed the ramen hungrily.

"Today is a special day so, Itadakimasu!"

The young blonde then wolfed down his meal. Teuchi was pleased to see his number one customer eat his well prepared food happily. He then questioned the blonde.

"So what's so special today Naruto?"

The young blonde smiled at the old ramen vendor and said,

"Today is the team assignment day oji-san! I can't wait to see who my teammates are and my jounin-sensei!" _'Hopefully it would be Hinata-chan in my team. But then again it could be the same as last time and I would need to go with plan B instead. I just hope that Sarutobi-oji-san isn't completely suspicious of my movements. The last thing I need is his worrying ass on my heels when I need stealth the most.'_

Ayame had just walked in with some fresh supplies for the store and greeted the young blonde good morning. But as she traveled to get inside the stand, she noticed the several kunai holsters strapped to his legs and what looks like the silhouette of several scrolls hidden in his white sleeveless hooded jacket. Though Ayame herself was no nin, but after years of service to several shinobi customers, she had a keen eye on what shinobis of every class carried with them and some of their uses. And obviously, the objects that Naruto carried were not of genin class since it looked like he was prepared for a week long journey just without a backpack.

The curious brown haired woman then asked Naruto.

"So why do have so much stuff with you today Naruto? It's not like your going to infiltrate another hidden village for your first mission."

She pointed at the young blonde's belt and strapped legs. Naruto scratched his head and said,

"I have to be prepared for anything. Just because I'm a genin doesn't mean I'm not going to run into any trouble."

The old man took this chance and made a sarcastic remark.

"Well with your juvenile record of pranking, I think it's good to be prepared. At least the mob will think twice before chasing you all over Konoha again."

The trio just laughed until Naruto checked the time and paid for his food as he took his leave.

Along the way to the academy for his big day, he felt a familiar presence just a couple of meters off. He smirked knowing who it was. When he got within range, a badly camouflaged Konohamaru leaped out of hiding and shouted,

"Fight me!"

The brown haired boy took a step and accidentally tripped over his paper painting of the wall he tried to hide in. Naruto just sweatdropped at his performance.

'_Not much has changed…wait a second…'_

Naruto looked a bit closer from his position and saw the many bruises and bandages that enveloped the boy's body. He knew instantly what Konohamaru had been up to.

"So Konohamaru, have you got the kunai already?"

The young blonde said as he placed his hands in his pockets.

"Konohamaru then quickly got up and said,

"Not yet, but I will boss! Just you wait and see!"

"Good! Well, I'm off. I need to head out to the academy and see who will be my teammates. Ja ne!"

The young blonde replied as he used **shunpo** to disappear from sight. Konohamaru was shocked and amazed as his eyes turned to saucers and his jaw dropped to the ground.

When Naruto finally reached the academy, he saw Hinata entering the double doors and followed suit. Hinata didn't notice the young blonde behind her until they entered the classroom. Both of them blushed when they saw each other. Naruto was just as embarrassed when he remembered what he just did that night.

"O-ohayo Hinata-chan!"

The young blonde nervously said as he scratched his head and made a weak smile. His blush grew wider at this point. Hinata twiddled her fingers as she nervously replied back,

"O-o-ohayo Naruto-kun."

"So, um Hinata-chan…do you know what we're supposed to do today?"

Hinata blushed as red as a tomato until an angry Sakura and Ino arrived and angrily mowed passed Naruto leaving him on the floor with several foot marks all over.

"Are you ok Naruto-kun?"

Hinata said as she knelt down to the blonde and helped him up. Naruto nervously dusted himself as he smiled and replied,

"I'm fine Hinata-chan. No need to worry. Besides I heal fast so I don't really need to worry about minor stuff like that!"

Naruto nervously laughed trying to regain his composure. As the blonde completely dusted himself off and fixed a bit of his clothing, A certain lazy genius was walking to his seat when he noticed the young blonde in the room.

'_What the…I thought he failed the exam? So why is he here? And he's wearing the same clothing when he took the exam except now he has a hitai-ate. Wait a second, he's got so many kunai holsters and I bet that belt is full of other stuff as well. It's not unusual to have two holsters for kunai and a utility belt but to have quadruple holster set on each leg and that many pouches around his waist and back? And to top it all off, he's talking with Hinata…nervously. My intuition was right, something is definitely up. I need to keep a close eye on him.'_

Shikamaru then approached the blonde and lazily asked,

"Why are you here? Today's explanatory meeting is only for those who graduated."

Naruto then looked at Shikamaru confidently and pointed at his headband that was partially covered by his bangs of blonde hair.

"Hey can you not see this hitai-ate? Starting today I'm also a shinobi. How should I say this…this looks really good on me, eh?"

The young blonde inwardly smirked while his tenant however was eyeing the lazy genius carefully. Both knew very well that once Shikamaru had his brain racking, it won't be long before he gets to the bottom of Naruto's secrets and that would be hazardous for his health and the health of his friends.

Shikamaru then yawned as he said,

"This is so troublesome."

Shikamaru then left and sat beside his good friend Chouji while Naruto sat one seat away from Sasuke. Hinata on the other hand sat at Naruto's right since she wasn't up to sitting beside him after what just happened last night. The raven haired boy who sat by the window noticed the young blonde who sat one seat away from him and said,

"Ohayo…dobe."

Naruto looked at the brooding Sasuke and smiled.

'_At least he's not much of a jerk anymore. It looks like the mission was a success. But maybe I can play a little prank on him once in a while.'_

"Ohayo…Sasuke. You know, you never talk to any of the girls or the guys unless you need something. Don't tell me you're falling for me because I'm not interested and you're not my type."

Sasuke was pissed at the sudden profane comment as he glared at the blonde menacingly. Naruto made a foxy grin as he continued,

"Sheesh, can't you get it into your skull? I am not interested in your homo fantasies so stop looking at me like you want to rape me. If you want to play your little homo fantasies with someone, I suggest with Chouji over there. I overheard rumors that the Akamichi clan has jutsus that allow them to grow any body part they wished."

Chouji suddenly lost his appetite as did Sasuke as he blushed faintly with a sick look on his face as he opened the window and released his load from his mouth. Many girls began to glare angrily at the blonde as they approached him with cold blood and fired up eyes of hate. Naruto began to sweat heavily at the sight of the approaching banshees until he got pounded once more even worse than before. Hinata looked worried as she saw the bruised form of Naruto from the heavy pounding he received.

Every other male in the room shuddered at the thought of ever making such an unruly comment in front of Sasuke's fanclub. And while the fangirls were tending to the bruised ego and imagination of the raven haired boy, they began a new battle to see who could sit beside Sasuke. Sakura then managed to fight her way from the other girls and sat beside the brooding raven haired boy. Just in time for Iruka to enter the classroom. Everyone took their seats as they paid attention to Iruka.

"Starting today you are all official ninjas, but…you are all still new genins so it's going to get harder from here."

Naruto sighed.

'_You have no idea Iruka-sensei. It's going to be hell. I just hope Hinata-chan can cope with this. I hope that I can save as many people as I can. There will be casualties, but that's a given since it was an invasion nonetheless. Kuso! I just remembered that I have no idea how to defeat the elemental gods and the Akatsuki!"_

Iruka saw their bored faces and decided to get straight to the point so that everything can be over and dealt with.

"You will all be in a group of three, where you will accomplish missions under a jounin-sensei."

Hinata perked up at the sound of that as did every other girl. To Hinata it was a chance to be with Naruto for the rest of her career as a shinobi. She blushed red as a tomato at that thought as she buried her head in embarrassment. To the other girls however, it meant being with Sasuke all their life as a shinobi. Ino smirked as she leaned over to get a closer shot at speaking to her pink haired rival in front of her.

"I wonder who's going to be in Sasuke-kun's team."

Sakura gazed her eyes back at her blonde rival and said,

"I don't know."

Naruto looked like he was pretty lazy from the lecture but in the deep recesses of his twenty-four year old mind, he was thinking of various strategies with his soon to be team as he began pairing up people like trading cards in his head.

'_Ok, if things will go like before, it's most likely that I'd end up with Sakura and Sasuke. We'd still have the perfect teamwork up despite having a lazy sensei. But if time had changed drastically because of my actions, I might end up with a different team. Shikamaru would be the perfect strategist if he wasn't so damn lazy all the time. Shino has always been the quiet type, but he is excellent when it comes to stealth and reconnaissance. Chouji is the heavy hitter with his power and family jutsus now if only he can train a bit more. If I read him right, Kiba and Akamaru can be a great attacking force and tracking hound as well as enemy discernment unit because of his enhanced senses. When it comes to the girls, Ino has her mind transferring jutsus so it's most likely she would be excellent when it comes to genjutsu. If she just focuses more, she can be a great kunoichi like Sakura was. But most of all, Hinata-chan is what I'm keeping an eye for. Though she's managed to get some self-confidence, she still has a long way to go. She's already strong on her own, so with just a little encouragement, she can be a force to be reckoned with. Hopefully, I get paired up with her so that we can spend more time together.'_

Naruto then sat up straight as he paid attention to Iruka with earnest heed and flaming azure eyes. Shikamaru who was secretly eyeing the blonde noticed the fiery determination suddenly ignite from the blonde. The lazy genius' gaze became sharper at the new reaction of Naruto.

"We've arranged the groups such that the overall abilities are equivalent."

Iruka said as he looked over the list of names. Tension rose as the blonde's gaze sharpened. Hinata, unknowingly clenched her fists noting how tense she was as well.

"I will now announce them."

Everyone except a select few in that room tensed as Iruka carefully looked at the list of genins and began announcing the teams.

Hinata's grip tightened.

'_I want to be close to Naruto-kun. I wish we would be on the same team together.'_

Shikamaru looked at the young blonde lazily but inwardly he was just as tense.

'_Naruto is one enigma. But I still have that gut feeling that he's up to something. If it wasn't so troublesome, I'd personally find out more about him. But oh well. I wonder how the clouds are looking this time.'_

Ino was just as tense as Sakura as their thoughts seemed to be unison.

'_Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun, please be with Sasuke-kun…'_

Iruka then finished announcing the members of team six, causing Naruto to tense even further.

"Next, seventh group…"

'_Here it comes.'_

"Uzumaki Naruto….Haruno Sakura…"

Naruto and Sakura face faulted on their desks when they heard this. Hinata suddenly got a stroke of envy at the pink haired girl.

"And Uchiha Sasuke…"

Sakura suddenly rose up in her seat triumphant causing the rest of the kunoichi in that class to burn with envy. This included Hinata since she wasn't teamed up with her beloved blonde crush.

"Next, eight group…Hyuuga Hinata…Inuzuka Kiba…and Aburame Shino."

Kiba smirked while Shino adjusted his dark glasses. Hinata and Naruto sighed in unison.

"Next, ninth group…"

Shikamaru complained why anyone would want to be with someone like Sasuke while Ino beside him made a remark why he would never be wanted like the brooding Uchiha and how she would not like to be teamed up with him.

"Next, tenth group…Yamanaka Ino…Nara Shikamaru…and Akamichi Chouji."

Ino grabbed her head in disgust at her two teammates to which Shikamaru made a counter remark to the rant of the blonde girl beside him. Iruka then looked at the class and decided to end things.

"That's it for the groups."

Naruto then pulled out his black notebook and began to read as he muttered,

"I can't believe I'm saying this but this is so troublesome."

Shikamaru smirked and for once agreed with the blonde.

"I'll introduce your Jounin-senseis in the afternoon so until then, this meeting is adjourned."

Iruka said to finish the meeting. With that, everyone casually left the building. Along the way, Hinata managed to move along with the crowd and catch up with the overly focused blonde reading a black book as he exited the building without a care in the world. She walked closer and closer until she hesitated to speak at the last minute. The all seeing Naruto, then closed his book and turned around.

"Is anything wrong Hinata-chan?"

Hinata was surprised at first, but she then went a little closer to him while twiddling her fingers reflexively. She managed to keep a steady gaze at his face as she bloomed like the delicate flower she is.

"Ano…Naruto-kun…thanks for the seeds you gave me. They're growing quite fast."

Naruto smiled as he blushed as well.

"No problem Hinata-chan. They must have sprouted by now. I'm sure it's quite a light show. How did your parents take it when they saw your plants?"

"They liked it. It was the most unusual thing they ever saw. They were even more surprised when I told them they were the Konoha Fire Lilies. I guess rare plants can have rare types of growth."

Hinata said as she smiled weakly. Her heart was beating hard as she heard the pulse echo in her mind. She then mustered her courage as she gripped her jacket tightly to say what her heart desired.

"Naruto-kun…w-would y-you l-like to eat lunch with me?"

She was blushing to the point where she was ready to faint. Naruto kept a grip on his ammonium bottle in his left pocket knowing what would happen next. He tried to calm himself down as he put his black notebook away. He knew what he wanted to do. His blooming appearance showed how much he wanted to causing the Hyuuga heiress to perk up in happiness as Naruto began to open his lips, he suddenly stopped as he looked to the side where he saw Kiba and Shino approach. Hinata looked in that direction as well and sighed as she saw her teammates.

"I guess another time Hinata-chan. Maybe when we're finally alone together we can eat lunch. That way it would be a more enjoyable date."

Naruto said as he looked at her lovingly and gave her a charming smile. Hinata turned crimson in embarrassment at the words of her long time crush and his killer expression. It was like one fantasy being fulfilled one after another. While she lowered her head in embarrassment, Naruto waved to the two approaching figures which then waved back. Hinata looked at her two teammates as Kiba smirked while Shino remained expressionless as they stood there.

"Yo! Naruto. What's shakin'? Shouldn't you be with your team?"

"Ahh! I almost forgot! How can I build teamwork if I don't meet up with them?"

Naruto said as he panicked. He then waved them goodbye as he ran looking for his two teammates leaving Hinata to dine with her team. All the while though, a certain black haired boy with a high ponytail that made him look like a pineapple scouted in the distance as he quietly tailed the blonde.

----------o)0(o----------

Naruto had run quite a long way until he managed to find Sakura nearby.

'_Still looking for Sasuke eh? Though I don't want to rekindle that old flame, but for team purposes, I might as well eat with her. But this means that I really have to go with plan B since oji-san hasn't exactly noticed. To what extent he knows is still hazy but I can't leave any loose ends. I have to lay low until I can tell him directly before the chuunin exams. That reminds me, what the hell do I do with Byakko's seal breakage? I can already feel my affinity to wind strengthen much more quickly and that's not a good sign. If only I can find a way to directly confront Suzaku then I would be able to understand how to deal with this situation.' _

Naruto then approached the pink haired girl and said,

"Sakura-san! How about we eat together since we're on the same team?"

Sakura frowned.

"No way do I want to eat with you. You're annoying."

"Sheesh, fine by me. You know you're acting more like Sasuke everyday with that bitching attitude of yours."

Naruto then took out his sandwhich and his black notebook and walked away as he ate and read. Sakura was rather perplexed by the sudden rant of the young blonde. He had never spoken back before nor acted so coldly and coolly towards her. In fact, he had never acted this way. The way he talked and walked was still somewhat the same yet the aura around him eminated differently. Shikamaru had the same thoughts as he continued tailing the blonde from a distance.

As Naruto walked along, he noticed that he was being tailed. His tenant then smirked as the fiery kitsune said,

**How long do you intend to keep him tailing you? He might accidentally discover something and all our plans would be for naught. Let me remind you that using shunpo everytime will draw attention from Soul Society and this world and right now, stealth is of the essence. This is after all, a Kami level mission.**

'_Don't worry. I can sense Chouji tailing him along with Ino so I know he would end up giving up at the last second. Besides, I can already feel Sasuke's reiatsu and chakra signature. I might not be able to get to talk with him by the time Kakashi-sensei gets here.'_

And just like clockwork, Shikamaru's presence began to move in the opposite direction along with Chouji's and Ino's. Naruto continued on his way until he saw the Uchiha sitting in a bench brooding. The young blonde then masked his chakra and reiatsu signature and **shunsined **just beside the raven haired boy. Sasuke didn't notice a thing until Naruto spoke.

"Yo! So how are you doing teammate?"

Sasuke was so startled that he fell face first on the floor before he regained his composure and glared at the smiling young blonde not noticing the black book in his hand.

'_How did he sneak up on me? How did I not notice his presence?'_

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather you sit down so that you keep your cool and act like it was just an act from the beginning."

The young blonde said as he urged Sasuke to sit while he put away his black book. Sasuke then sat back down but occasionally glared at the young blonde with a confused expression. Naruto decided to break the ice and said,

"So Sasuke, How have you been doing lately? It must hard to know that your family is the only Uchiha left."

Sasuke mellowed down his glares and gazed straight ahead as he said,

"I'm doing fine. Lately I've been trying my hardest to bring out my Kekkei Genkai for use in both training and battle."

"Oh, I see…I thought that by now you would have been able to bring it out. I guess some things take more time."

Naruto said as he threw the wrapper of his sandwich at the nearby trashcan. Sasuke smirked as a thought entered his mind.

"So tell me Naruto, what have you been up to? Have you been training? Or is that hitai-ate just for show?"

Naruto smiled back as he scratched his head.

"Actually I have been training really hard. I really want to be able to be the Hokage so that I can protect my village and prevent another thing like what happened to your family."

Sasuke made a weak smile at this and said.

"It looks like that's going to be impossible since you're the dobe of the class. Might as well give you a hand so that you can at least touch the Hokage's hat."

Naruto smirked back and made a foxy grin as he said,

"Oh really? I'm honored to have the 'Great Uchiha Sasuke' aid me. Tell you what, when I become Hokage, you can have all the Okamas you want for your harem. If ever you need to rebuild your clan, I'll just donate your sperm to the hospital so that you don't have to touch woman for reproduction. I'm sure Sakura-san would love to give birth to your children and will accept it wholeheartedly. How's that sound Sasugay?"

Sasuke gave Naruto a deathglare as he stood up which caused Naruto to reflexively stand up as well. Sasuke then threw a punch to Naruto's face only for the young blonde to evade by mere millimeters to the right. While still evading the thrown blow, young blonde reflexively grabbed Sasuke's wrist with his right hand and moved back causing the raven haired boy to lose balance. While in one circular motion, Naruto locked his right forearm by grabbing it with his left hand and placing his right elbow underneath the joint of Sasuke's right arm. While still keeping the armlock in place, Naruto then moved forward and with the full weight of his body, lifted him up on his back, then he twisted his body to the right and threw him on the floor causing Sasuke to land back first with his head at the feet of Naruto.

It didn't hurt Sasuke since Naruto let go at the last second so as to not break his arm in the process. The only thing that Naruto hurt was his pride. Naruto then smiled as he said,

"Next time you want to punch me, move closer so that you can protect yourself from being grappled. Even an open hand can be stronger than a clenched fist in the right time."

Sasuke just looked at him dumfounded as he got back up and regained his posture. The raven haired boy was the number one in all the academy's classes both written and practical. He was the rookie of the year and yet this so-called 'dead last' had effortlessly defeated him. Everything seemed like a blur to Sasuke as he experienced the well timed complex reflexes of the young blonde.

Seeing the shocked state of Sasuke, Naruto then continued speaking.

"Anyway, I'd best head off and look for Sakura-san so that we can meet our Jounin-sensei this afternoon. I'll see you back in class. Ja ne!"

Naruto then turned around and walked away as he continued reading his black notebook along the way. Sasuke was still dumbfounded as he saw the retreating form of the young blonde and the insignia on his back. Instinctively, he did the only thing his body would permit him to do, follow Naruto.

As the raven haired boy got closer to the young blonde, a cool breeze carrying leaves swept passed his dark brown eyes. And in that instant, Naruto disappeared from sight without a trace. Sasuke looked everywhere but could see no sign of the young blonde. He had no understanding of the enigma that was his teammate and worst of all, Naruto was better than him. Sasuke ran as quickly as he could towards the direction of the academy as he despaired in his now rattled mind who could be this young boy called his teammate.

Naruto managed to find his other teammate sitting at a bench with an empty bento and canteen. He inwardly smirked as nostalgia filled his heart and mind.

'_Here she is. Just like before. I know exactly why she likes Sasuke. But she's Sasuke's girl so I have no complaints. Good luck to him when she becomes a violent banshee like Tsunade-baa-chan. Besides, I have Hinata-chan and she's way sweeter and kinder. I wonder if I can…'_

Naruto then made the same entry move he did with Sasuke. She never saw him coming until Naruto spoke up.

"If you're still brooding about Sasuke, then you're more like him than I thought."

Scared would be an understatement as she was frightened out of her wits when she screamed in fright before falling face flat on the ground. Veins started throbbing on her as she gave the young blonde a deathglare that even scared some nearby birds while she clenched her vein throbbing fist to beat him to a pulp with. Without hesitation, she threw her fist which landed on the empty seat Naruto was leaving the poor bench to receive the blow as a small crack appeared on the spot. Naruto of course, had evaded the blow quickly and was behind her. He then whistled as he looked at the small crack on the bench and then replied,

"That is one painful punch. If I hadn't moved, my skull could have been cracked wide open like an egg."

Sakura began blowing on her reddened hand as she tried to shake the pain away. The pink haired banshee then gave Naruto another deathglare as she screamed at him,

"I'LL SCRAMBLE THAT DIPSHIT ASS THAT YOU CALL A HEAD SHANNARO!"

Naruto then pinched his nose as he said,

"Sheesh, your breath stinks more than Kiba's odor with all that trash talk. You know, for a girl whose name means cherry blossom, you act more like the other meaning of your name."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

Sakura screeched at the young blonde as she readied her other fist. Naruto made a foxy grin as he said what could be the last sentence of his mortal existence.

"Your name Sakura has two meanings. One is cherry blossom tree, and the other if translated correctly, '**Sa'** means 'Sand'. '**Ku' **means 'Long Time'. And finally, **'Ra'** means 'Demon'. So put together, Sakura means The Sand's Long Time Demon!"

Sakura became exactly that as she gave the second blow to Naruto's face. Naruto flew a couple of feet away before transforming into a log and appearing behind Sakura once again. Naruto then placed his left hand on her shoulder as she regained consciousness from what just happened. Sakura grit her teeth as she turned around to give another blow which Naruto blocked with a wrapped rectangular object that had Sasuke's handwriting on it. Sakura, being Sasuke's number one fangirl, easily recognized the handwriting and stopped midway when she saw it. She didn't bother to ask Naruto how he keeps disappearing and reappearing behind her as she forcefully grabbed the object and read the card on it.

"It says it's from Sasuke…it's for me!"

She blushed as she joyfully ripped the wrappings to shreds and gawked at the 'present' she received from her beloved avenger. She was perplexed at the present in her hands.

'_Icha Icha Paradise…What the heck is this? I never knew Sasuke was into this kind of stuff. I knew he read books for training purposes, but for leisure? And this kind of book, I've never seen anything like this. Maybe he wants me to read it. But why? But if it's Sasuke maybe…'_

"Did Sasuke tell you to give this to me?"

Sakura asked Naruto innocently. Naruto mentally grinned as did his tenant. The young blonde smiled and said,

"Well if you weren't so busy trying to pound me into the afterlife, I would have given it to you much sooner. I don't understand why he told me to give it to you but he said that he couldn't give it himself. Damn teme…making me his errand boy, who does he think he is? Oh yeah, he said we should meet up back at the classroom now since our Jounin-sensei might already be there. I'll go on ahead, Ja ne!"

Naruto then ran off leaving a bewildered Sakura. It was a perfectly constructed lie since Naruto said it the way only he could have said it with his childlike innocence towards matters of the heart. The contents really didn't matter since Sakura had no idea what it was she was holding but the way Naruto's explanation sounded is exactly the way Sasuke would have done it. she felt a moment of bliss as she held the pornographic book in her arms before opening to the first page and began reading.

Naruto was chuckling in the distance as his tenant made a countdown until Sakura screeched saying,

"HEEEEEEEHHHH?!"

Naruto arrived at the classroom where many were finally seated with Iruka already waiting for the last remaining teams to arrive for the next part of the meeting. As the young blonde sat down, he was grinning from ear to ear in a way that made Iruka sweatdrop. He knew that devious look anywhere and it definitely meant trouble.

Sasuke then came in as he lifelessly sat down in his seat while eyeing the blonde sharply as the aftershock began to take its toll on the Uchiha. Sakura soon came in as well as her face became a light shade of crimson. While she nervously marched to her seat, she kept her gaze away from her other male compatriots and avoided any form of contact with them as much as possible. When she finally sat down, she quickly glanced at Naruto and Sasuke who seemed surprised by her expression. She began to blush further as she inched away from her male teammates. Iruka smacked his face as he mentally said,

'_Naruto you baka…what kind of prank did you pull this time? Hopefully, your Jounin-sensei should be able to get that anarchist attitude of yours out the window by the time he's through with you.'_

Everyone began to settle down as Iruka cleared his throat.

"Alright, settle down. Your Jounin-senseis are her now and will escort you to your training grounds so teams one to six, please head out of the academy."

Soon the room emptied leaving only the remaining genins for Iruka to deal with as he continued.

"For team seven, Hatake Kakashi will be your sensei you'll have to wait for him since he's currently not here yet…."

Naruto then pulled up his black notebook once again and started reading. Sasuke managed to get over his wounded pride and continued to analyze the blonde as did Shikamaru. Both were curious as to what the blonde was reading and his sudden change in personality. He was still the same loudmouth he once was, yet something was very amiss. Sakura saw noticed the book that Naruto was reading and blushed as she remembered the book she just 'received from Sasuke' as a present.

"For team eight, Yuhi Kurenai will be your sensei."

Kurenai walked in and caused all the boys in that room to blush at her beauty as if she was a goddess to behold while the girls burned with envy.

"Hello everyone. I am team eight's Jounin-sensei. I am very pleased to meet you."

Kiba and Shino walked towards the raven haired beauty while Hinata hesitated as she looked at Naruto one last time before following suit. Kurenai marked this down as she saw the small smile emerge from Naruto before Hinata turned away allowing him to return to his reading.

"Alright team eight. We will meet outside in the training yard in five minutes so let us hurry."

With that, the team exited as Iruka called out the next team who met their Jounin-sensei and left. At this point, Sakura managed to calm herself down after the embarrassing situation she was just in a few minutes ago. Sasuke on the other hand was replaying what just happened awhile ago in his mind when he threw his fist at Naruto. He played over and over again trying to piece together little by little what exactly happened and how it happened. He was baffled and angry that the dobe of the class was capable of such a maneuver with such flawlessness and fluidity. It was as if he had done this before so many times that it was a natural reflex action for him. Sasuke decided to take back his statement that Naruto was a dobe. If he could do that to him so effortlessly, how much more if he was actually serious?

"Next, Team ten. Your Jounin-sensei is Sarutobi Asuma…"

Asuma stepped in and lazily introduced himself.

"Yo! I'm Saru…Just call me Asuma. Anyway, team…ten right? I'll see you outside in the training fields…Yeah, I think that's about it."

Ino face faulted as she exasperated,

"Great. Another lazy bum like Shikamaru over here. What's a girl to do?"

Shikamaru dragged himself from his seat as did Chouji and Ino. But before the lazy genius went to his Jounin-sensei, he managed to take a glimpse at what Naruto was reading. Inwardly, he was shocked at what he saw. The young blonde was reading a book in a foreign language that Shikamaru with his above superior IQ could not recognize. What was it that the blonde was reading? Unfortunately, he couldn't continue his observations as he trugged down the steps and followed his sensei outside.

Naruto then remembered what had happened with Asuma and his death at the hands of Hidan.

'_Another mission has been presented. I have to keep Asuma alive. If I can keep what's left of the Sarutobi clan alive, then I can ensure that Konoha will still have many supporters of the Third's laws and the future Godaime's.'_

Soon, the only team remaining was Naruto's as Iruka bid them goodbye to attend his other duties. For hours they waited there in that classroom Sakura and Sasuke waited as patiently as they could, but inside they were already irritated at the tardiness of their teacher. Naruto on the other hand was used to this having lived this part of his life before. He waited patiently while reading his black notebook of knowledge and jutsu trying to figure out a possible incantation within the writings and learning new jutsus on the way.

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore and went over to the young blonde and asked,

"Naruto, what is that book you're reading?"

Sakura snapped out of her trance and as if on instinct, noticed the book as well. Naruto then looked up at the curious Uchiha and replied,

"This is the BINGO book. In the bingo book are listed information on the missing nins and their bounty. If we're going to be out on missions, we have to keep an eye out for them."

Sakura then said,

"But we're still genins so there's no point to reading that since we'll never catch them at our current rank."

Naruto then closed his book and looked at his pink haired teammate.

"That's not the only purpose for reading the BINGO book. Aside from catching them, we can also use the info for evading them as well as misinformation during missions if the situation presents it. You never know when they could be right at your doorstep and you wouldn't be able to recognize them."

At first it didn't click in Sasuke's and Sakura's mind until Sakura smacked her forehead in bitter realization at what he meant.

"Since when did you become so clever? What, have you been failing the tests on purpose?"

Sakura asked the young blonde. Naruto shook his head and replied,

"Not really. I have been working hard. If only the teachers actually teach me and helped me, I would have decent grades instead of barely passing. So I had to learn things on my own and that was really hard. And to answer your first question, yes I'm actually smart. But like I said, I needed h-e-l-p to really understand the lessons."

Sasuke smirked at the young blonde's remark. He then eyed the blonde sharply and said,

"Is that so? Then I suppose that grappling technique you used on me earlier when I tried to punch you was self taught."

Sakura still in bewilderment at the remark of Sasuke, danced her gaze between Sasuke and Naruto until she saw Naruto make his infamous roxy grin. It then dawned upon her in another set of bitter realization.

"Yes I taught that myself. I saw a martial arts competition once in Konoha and it was really cool. Then I tried learning the moves they performed during that competition. I did learn some of it, and created some moves of my own. That was one of those moves. That I finally mastered after years of training." _'Though I wasn't lying about the martial arts competition, I did lie about the move being self taught. It's actually a basic hakuda grapple move from the academy. Since it's a physical attack, I don't need to always keep low about my taijutsu skills.'_

Sasuke adorned a weak smile on his face at the thought of having a competent partner on his team. Sasuke then said,

"If that's the case, then I want you to fight me now. I won't fall for the same trick again."

Sasuke then took a few steps back and moved into a basic taijutsu stance. Sakura was stirred by the sudden urge of Sasuke while Naruto placed his book back in his jacket and began walking towards Sasuke. Sakura then smirked as she said,

"There's no way you can beat Sasuke, Naruto. You must have tricked him before performing whatever move you used on him. He'll beat your ass down so just forget it."

Without falter, the young blonde continued moving despite the warnings of his pink haired teammate. As the gap between the two combatants shortened, Sasuke clenched his fist as he moved steeper in his stance to defend himself from Naruto. The young blonde on the other hand, walked right past the raven haired boy and took an eraser from the chalkboard and made the same prank on Kakashi like in his past lifetime. Sakura then screeched at Naruto.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Our sensei could come in at any minute."

Sasuke was irritated at the sudden back down of the blonde and Sakura's voice as he told her,

"Shut up. You're annoying."

Sakura then shut her mouth as she was told. But she was surprised at the statement of her long time crush and began to protest.

"But…Sasuke-kun…It's not like our sensei would fall for that. Which reminds me, about the present you gave me…ano…ano…I…"

"Just shut it. I really don't care much about your whines and requests."

Sakura was taken aback by Sasuke's remark. She was rejected in a most painful way. Sakura then sat back down and took out the 'present' she received from Naruto and looked at it blankly. Sasuke noticed the book and blushed as he asked her,

"Where did you get that?"

Sakura looked at her crush and replied,

"Naruto gave it to me. He said it was a present from you. If you want it back then you can have it."

She held up the book to give it to him. Sasuke blushed even further as he turned around and said,

"No you can have it. That book…was…missing from our house for…some time now."

Sasuke was blushing much brighter now as did Sakura. She felt a sudden tug of emotions as many embarrassing thoughts flooded her mind until she realized something which incurred her wrath.

"NARUTO! YOU STOLE SASUKE'S STUFF YOU DAMN BASTARD!"

Naruto made another foxy grin as he said,

"At least you have an idea on Sasuke's likes and dislikes. I just thought that you should best prepare yourself for what dark nature the number one rookie of the year has behind that arrogant face."

Sakura then blushed even brighter at the thought of a naughtier side to Sasuke. Even though she would not admit it, she herself, had thought about the darker and naughtier side of Sasuke and enjoyed thinking about what kind of a devil he could be.

Naruto then sat at the seat closest to the door as he pulled out his black book and began reading again. And in a few minutes, Kakashi arrived. It was a laugh to see such a high ranking Jounin fall for such a simple booby trap….to Naruto at least. Sakura and Sasuke had one thought in common.

'_No way! He actually fell for it?'_

Kakashi sighed having fallen for the trap. He scanned the room and saw Sakura standing with shock on her face, Sasuke with the same expression as well, and Naruto seated with his nose in the 'BINGO book'. He then picked up the eraser and said,

"How should I say this…My first impression of you guys are…I hate you."

Naruto smirked as he flipped to the next page while Sasuke and Sakura frowned. Kakashi then continued.

"Meet me in the rooftop in five minutes."

With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke was surprised at the new technique of his sensei. Naruto just stood up and said,

"It's called **Shunsin. **Anyway, we'd better go upstairs now."

The young blonde then walked out of the classroom with his nose in his book. Sasuke and Sakura followed suit. When they reached the top, they saw their sensei leaning on the balcony railing as he just put away an orange book back in his pocket. Both Sakura and Sasuke thought that they saw something familiar about that book. Naruto however knew better because he already knew what it was. Each of them sat in a step in front of their sensei. The white haired Jounin wasted no time and started to speak.

"It's been a while since we last saw each other Naruto and Sasuke. The last time I saw you guys was when Naruto reported that there were people dead in the streets and a couple still alive but in critical condition. And Sasuke rushed to the hospital because he heard that his entire clan was massacred except his parents who were wounded."

Sakura looked at the two boys on her left and right with a shocked expression. Sasuke then replied to Kakashi.

"How can I forget? I still owe Naruto for that time since if he never showed up there, my parents wouldn't have been able to last long enough to make it to the hospital. Actually I'm even more surprised that you're our Jounin-sensei."

Sakura was even more surprised when she heard that as she looked at the blonde savior. Seeing their distracted thoughts, Kakashi then spoke once more.

"Alright…for formality, let's see…Why don't you introduce yourselves."

"Introduce ourselves? What should we say?"

Sakura asked. Kakashi then replied,

"What you like, hate, your dreams, and hobbies. Something like that."

"Hey, why don't you introduce yourself sensei?"

Naruto said as continued reading. Kakashi saw that Naruto wasn't entirely bothered by the situation. He was paying more attention to his reading than what was going on around him. But since the one eyed jounin read his profile, he understood why the young blonde was so bored.

Kakashi then began the introductions for them.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intentions of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dream…I have few hobbies."

"So all we found out was his name."

Sakura said to her teammates with a frown on her face.

"Now it's your turn. You first bookworm."

Naruto then closed his notebook as tuck it away in his pocket.

'_Ok. This is it. The last thing I need is to blow it with them. I think a little hint now and then shouldn't be so bad. Since they will be next ones I will inform after Hinata-chan.' _"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are training, learning new things, being with the people I love who love me back, ramen, and reading. My dislikes are traitors, people who underestimate me, snakes, and the Akatsuki. My hobbies are hunting, sparring and chakra control. My dream is to one day become the greatest Hokage in all of Konoha!"

The young blonde's flaming azure eyes burned brightly as an aura of determination eminated from him. Kakashi was surprised by the boy's strong willed and serious attitude.

'_That's strange. I read in the profile he was the one with the lowest scores and was the one of the most carefree shinobi in the entire class. With his kind of background, it wouldn't be a surprise that he would be this determined but to this extent? And what is the Akatsuki? Hmm…I think I better make a recheck if the profile was correct.'_

Kakashi then cleared his throat as he said,

"Okay, next."

Sakura then took a deep breath as she shyly then complied.

"I'm Haruno Sakura! I like…well the person I like is…"

She momentarily glances at the brooding raven haired boy next to her.

"And my hobby is…well, my dream is to…"

She then squeals in delight. Kakashi sweatdropped.

'_Great. A fangirl. Now, now Kakashi, you can't judge a book by its cover.'_

"And what do you hate?"

Kakashi said. Sakura thought about it first before replying,

"Naruto."

Naruto normally would've felt broken by this, but since his heart already belongs to another, he paid no heed. Kakashi placed his chin on his right hand as he began making an assessment of the first two students. He frowned as he mentally said,

'_Girls at her age must be more interested in love than shinobi training.'_

Kakashi then said as he looked over the brooding Uchiha,

"Last guy."

Sasuke didn't perk up as he continued brooding but complied anyway.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things that I hate and there aren't a lot of things that I like. Also I have an ambition that I have no intention to leave as just a dream. The revival of my clan, and to…kill a certain man."

Naruto and Kakashi had one thought in unison.

'_Just as I thought.'_

Though the air tensed when the raven haired boy spoke, Naruto knew he still had his work cut out for him since Sasuke is still brooding over the loss of his clan and the attempted murder of his parents. In order to lighten the mood a little, Kakashi decided to get to the point and have the day over with.

"Alright, you three all have unique personalities. I like that. We're going to have a mission starting tomorrow. First were going to do something that we four can do…survival training."

Sakura being the smartest of the group then replied,

"Why are we going to train when it's a mission? We had plenty of training in the academy."

Naruto then looked at his pink haired teammate and said,

"Don't you like that? Just because we had training in the academy doesn't mean we should stop there. Besides, I'd love to be able to train under a jounin and see what kind of moves he could teach us."

Sasuke reluctantly nodded at the thought of training from a competent elite shinobi. Kakashi's visible eye became a u shape as he replied,

"Glad to hear you're in. This is no ordinary training I'm giving you….Well, if I say this, I'm sure you three are going to be surprised."

Naruto smirked at this point knowing exactly what his sensei was implying. This did not go unnoticed to Sasuke as he eyed the blonde carefully while Sakura was curiously eyeing the white haired jounin as his face hardened into seriousness.

"Out of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine are going to become genins. The other eighteen will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a dropout rate of sixy-six percent."

Naruto sharpened his gaze as Sasuke's eyes widened a little. Sakura frowned at what kind of hell they're going to go through.

"See? You three are surprised!"

Kakashi said as his scare tactic managed to work…at least on the other two. He could see that Naruto wasn't intimidated at the very least making him even more unsure about the profile he was given concerning the young blonde. So Kakashi attempted another scare tactic to the young blonde as he said,

"Anyway, I'm going to determine whether you pass or fail tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring your equipment and meet at five a.m.! Now then meeting over. Oh, yeah and don't eat breakfast you're going to throw up if you do."

Naruto then smiled even wider intimidating the intimidator. Now Kakashi was really suspicious until the blonde pumped his fist in the air and said,

"Ikimasho Kakashi-sensei! I ain't afraid of no stinkin' test so bring it on!"

The tension suddenly dropped from Naruto's battle cry as Sakura began to unclench her fist while Sasuke loosened his grip on his hands. Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly.

'_I guess the report was partially true. But he blew away the tension like a gale of wind…a maelstrom…this will be interesting.'_

With that, Kakashi **shunsined **away. Naruto then stood up from his seat and placed his hands in his pockets. He then said to his teammates,

"Well, since we have tomorrow to do everything, how about we spend some time together to build up our teamwork?"

Sasuke stood up and walked away as he exited the balcony through the same door they entered through with Sakura following close behind. Seeing as his team had no intentions of joining him, Naruto then looked over the balcony as he gazed at the beautiful view before him. He then took out from his jacket his GPS as he looked at the several reiatsu signatures that dotted the village. He then began pressing on some buttons as he located certain reiatsu signatures until he found the specific one he was looking for.

"That direction huh? Unfortunately, that's the inside of her house meaning she has no intention of leaving. Especially since her cousin is with her. They're probably sparring so I can't bother with it. What should I do now? I guess I can head back to the library for some research, but then again I can also do some training with the time I have. And lastly, I should observe the terrain we will probably be in for the survival mission. Hmm…"

Naruto said to himself. His tenant who listened throughout the conversations decided to pitch in his suggestion.

**Gaki, you know as well as I do that you can create bunshins for that. Besides, you need to practice on the jutsus I taught you during our days in Soul Society. You don't have to do it out here since it would inconvenience our position. But instead, practice in your mindscape were you have unlimited access for the techniques. Unless you can create a Fuzetsu in the real world which I highly doubt since that technique is of god level, then you have no choice.**

Naruto nodded in agreement. Until he can figure out a way to bring out his zanpakuto into the physical world, it would mean serious training in his other supplementary powers.

"I guess will have to go with that one. Training first, and resting second."

The young blonde then put away his GPS as he **shunsined** his way out in a swirl of leaves and wind.

Sasuke was surprised from his hidden position behind the door. Sakura was just as shocked as they saw him perform the move for the third time of the day.

"I knew he was hiding something. Martial arts my ass, he knows a technique that's beyond genin level."

Sasuke said as he clenched his fist. Sakura was even more perplexed of Naruto. Was that really him? The number one most unpredictable knuckleheaded ninja sure lived up to being unpredictable. But a knucklehead, he wasn't.

"Sasuke-kun, I think that he knows more than he's letting on. And what was that device he was holding?"

Sakura asked as she looked to Sasuke for answers to which he shook his head in defeat.

----------o)0(o----------

Naruto managed to reach a familiar ground where he saw Konohamaru climbing the tree in the distance. The brown haired boy tried his hardest to climb the tree but fell every time. Naruto silently chuckled at the determination that Konohamaru showed as Ebisu arrived with some drinks for Konohamaru to have as he rested. Naruto then masked his chakra and reiatsu as he poured chakra to his ears for him to listen in on them.

"To think you would recklessly follow that boy's instructions don't you think it's time to stop this nonsense?"

Ebisu said as he applied some ointment on Konohamaru's bruised arms. Konohamaru then angrily replied,

"No way! Naruto-nii-san gave me a challenge and I'm not going to back down! Besides, there are no shortcuts to becoming Hokage."

Ebisu saw the fire in the boy's eyes. He knew very well that the young lad wasn't going anywhere until he got to where he needed to go. Although he hated to admit it, but he was glad that Konohamaru had met Naruto. After that one encounter, the young master had changed completely and did everything he could to learn so that he can achive his dream. Ebisu smiled as he said,

"Well you're not going to be able to climb up that tree the way you're doing it. If you want to climb the tree, then you jump from branch to branch. The tree is like a staircase where you have to use both your hands and feet. If you can get to the top, I'll teach you another way of climbing it. But I won't teach you that other way if you don't first get there the normal way. Is that understood?"

Konohamaru nodded and began climbing once again. Naruto then walked away as he continued on towards his home. Unfortunately for him, he was being tailed once again.

**You seem to have stalkers of your own gaki. At least in the Uchiha's case, it was girls.**

Naruto inwardly frowned at the kitsune's remark. True enough, it wasn't a woman who was tailing him, but an enemy disguised as a civilian. Why he was being tailed was a mystery. But whoever this person is wasn't going to let up. Naruto casually roamed the streets with the enemy hot in pursuit.

The young blonde darted in and out of the crowd avoiding being pelted by stones or rotten food by several more aggressive villagers until he managed to get into an empty alleyway. He didn't feel any other presences nearby. Not even ANBU units were here despite their ability to mask their presence. It was just Naruto and the shady individual. The shady individual made his move as he drew a dagger and ran into the alleyway only to see it empty. He searched around him as he moved forward and stabbed the wooden wall hoping to have gotten the blonde only for it to hit just wood.

Suddenly, the shady man felt a sudden jolt of energy at the back of his neck. The man immediately fell to the floor completely paralyzed. Before he could react, he felt the tip of the kunai pierce his neck as a trickle of blood flowed on the cold steel.

"**Kanashibari no Jutsu…**a pretty useful jutsu for guys like you. Now tell me who sent you and where are your companions and I will make sure that the Konoha prison treats you fairly. Give me the wrong information, and you will die where you lie and we will still find your friends and we will execute them in the most brutal way."

The young blonde coldly stated disguised as an ANBU officer. The man shivered as he felt the cold blade pierce even further.

"Like hell I'd tell you—AHHACK!!!"

The man attempted to scream until Naruto placed his free hand on the man's mouth as he shoved the kunai in between the right shoulder blade of the man and started using the kunai as a lever to lift the man's shoulder blade off his body.

"I'll ask you again. Who sent you and where are your friends? If you value your companion's lives, then tell me quickly before I…"

Naruto then released his free hand's grip and took another kunai as he pointed it up the man's ass.

"Well…you get the point."

The man was too panicked to say anything more and just complied. It turns out that he was just a mere bandit who entered Konoha looking to learn anything he could from the village so that he can peddle his trade along with his gang who were waiting outside one of the walls of Konoha. The reason he was chasing Naruto was because Naruto seemed like the easiest prey for him to pick on. A mistake he learned when several jounins arrived and took the man away for interrogation just after Naruto had pilfered the man of all his things and left without a trace.

Naruto then saw that it was late and headed home where he began to train in his mindscape. He trained hard in all the jutsus he learned from his past life and the ones he learned from his father and Kyuubi. He practiced them over and over again until he could do at least half of them with one-handed seals. It was a difficult task, but he did it nonetheless. With his perfect chakra and reiatsu control, it was a breeze for him.

He returned to the real world where he trained himself in trying to get the balance between chakra and reiatsu. For years he tried hard, but this type of control was much harder since it tended to flow too quickly to either ends of the scale. He then got too frustrated that he stopped to cool down.

"Man it's harder than it looks. I can try another day so I'd best get some rest today."

That he did until dawn woke him up once again. He took a quick shower and prepared himself with the same battle gear as yesterday. He then quickly **shunpo'd **his way out.

Within a second and a half, he reached the training ground. The midnight blue sky still predominantly colored the azure plane as the cold morning breeze filled the atmosphere with its crisp air. The young blonde saw that he was much earlier than the others so he decided to scout out the land before finally waiting in a nearby tree. He sat in the highest branch where he took out his notebook and began reading once again.

Not too soon, Sakura and Sasuke arrived. Naruto saw them and decided to not to enter the scene yet since he wished to observe their reactions. Sasuke, completely out of character, decided to break the ice.

"Where's Naruto?"

Sakura perked up from her half-asleep state but sighed at what Sasuke was asking of her.

"I don't know. It's not like we live together."

"Sorry about that I was just asking."

Sakura was shocked at what she heard. She cleaned her ears with her pinky finger to which Sasuke just ignored and sat down. Sakura sighed once more in relief knowing that Sasuke hadn't changed. She then sat down beside him as she tried to strike up a conversation with him all in vain.

Naruto decided that it was time to show up as he put away his book and appeared behind them and said,

"So how's the romantic couple doing?"

They were scared out of their skin as Sasuke took out his kunai and got into a defensive position. He then dropped his guard when he realized who it was. Sakura was really pissed at this point as she hollered out to him,

"NARUTO BAKA! STOP SCARING US LIKE THAT! SASUKE COULD HAVE KILLED YOU!"

Naruto then replied,

"Well, if I was able to get behind you guys without you knowing, then wouldn't that mean that I could have killed you guys instead?"

Sasuke sighed as he put back his kunai and said,

"Unfortunately, he's right. We were too unaware." _'I don't get it! How is he able to keep sneaking up on us? It doesn't make any sense. I couldn't even feel him. I need to know how he does that.'_

"Tell me Naruto…"

Sasuke said causing Naruto and Sakura to look at him.

"HOW is it you keep getting BEHIND ME?!"

Naruto smiled deviously as he said,

"Training and practice. And besides, I find it weird that you emphasized behind and me. You're homo tendencies are really creeping me out."

Sakura charged at the blonde recklessly leaving a slight dent in the shape of her fist at the spot were Naruto was when Naruto backed away. He then whistled again as he said,

"You're inhuman strength keeps amazing me, The Sand's Long Time Demon!"

Sasuke then grabbed a hold of Sakura as she attempted to break free while cursing profanities that made even Naruto's tenant chuckle in laughter.

When the three finally calmed down, Naruto then spoke once more,

"If my instincts are right, Kakashi-sensei will be late again so we have some ample time to prepare for whatever test he's going to give us."

Sasuke nodded.

"I agree with Naruto here. So what should we do then?"

Sakura had a brilliant idea and said,

"How about we check our surroundings so we can have a good idea of what's out here."

Naruto then took out a small scroll and said,

"Already did. I was here really early so that I can have a layout of the land. I made a map of the area so we know where we can set potential traps. There weren't any traps by the way so Kakashi wasn't planning any sneak attacks on us in the training grounds. Anyway this allows us to plan out and coordinate much easier since we have an idea on what we will be up against out here in this survival test."

Once again, they marveled at the strategic mind that Naruto displayed before them. It was as if he had done this before causing a change in view of the young blonde before them. Sasuke then decided to speak.

"Since that's done, we need to check our arsenals."

Sakura complied as she showed her gear. She had several kunai and shuriken, some rations, a first aid kit, some extra clothing, and a mirror and comb. Sasuke then took out his stuff and had more battle ready equipment as he had five exploding tags, a few shurikens and kunai, three fuuma shuriken, some wire, rations, extra clothing and a first aid kit. Sakura praised Sasuke for being so battle ready. Both the cherry blossom and the raven haired boy looked at Naruto who was looking nervous. Sasuke smirked and said,

"You forgot to bring your stuff huh? I bet that bag is full of the ramen you love eating so much."

Naruto then sighed as he unloaded his bag and the gear from his jacket and pockets. His two other teammates were jawdropped at what the blonde unloaded.

He had one hundred explosive notes, fifty kunai and shuriken each, thirty-five senbons and fifteen soldier pills, ten scrolls tagged with special colors, some wires and a brush with a full ink cartridge kept in the end of the brush, three collapsed fuuma shuriken, twelve smoke bombs, a complete first aid kit with extra needles, bandages and disinfectant, his black notebook and a set of retractable katars, kusari-gama, a pair of knives, some rations and five flash bombs.

Sakura was the first to react and said,

"THIS IS SURVIVAL TRAINING NOT A WAR!"

Sasuke just swallowed hard at the amount of arsenal the blonde carried. With all that gear, he didn't even have space for extra clothing. Naruto then sheepishly replied,

"Well better to be over prepared than under prepared."

Sakura, irritated to no end, asked of Naruto.

"And where in the world did you get all that stuff? I feel like I'm looking at a traveling weapons merchant. I don't even recognize some of the stuff here!"

Sakura said pointing at the katars and flash grenades. Naruto then replied.

"Those, my pink haired friend, are katars. They're arm mounted blades that you place on your forearms. The mechanism allows the blade to come out and retract when the person activates it. And the other thing you were pointing at is called flash grenades. They can temporarily blind your opponent allowing you to escape. They're loud, but effective. And if you wanted to know where I got them, I've been scavenging them all around Konoha since I didn't have enough money to buy my own set."

Sasuke reluctantly nodded not knowing what to say as did Sakura. They then packed up their equipment and began planning until morning broke the dim skyline. They were still amazed the young blonde that was their teammate. Though he still had his very Naruto-like tendencies, it was as if they were looking at a completely different person. Only two words could describe the young blonde…cunning and deadly.

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That is it! I don't like to make cliffhangers but the bell test will be in the next chapter. Anyway, I've decided to go with the old team since it makes things a lot easier for me to work with than a completely different team up. I did think about Hinata being in the team, but then their relationship could be easily discovered rather early so I made sure they don't end up in the same team together. But it makes things much harder for both of them creating that much needed tension. Till the next update, Ja ne!

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**Fuzetsu(Time-stop)-** a technique solely for stopping time in the real world. It is a god level technique since it can momentarily stop time in a huge area. The size of the area is directly proportional to the amount of energy needed for its output.

**Kanashibari no Jutsu(Temporary Paralysis Technique)- **an ANBU level technique used to temporarily cut off the nervous system of the intended target. This technique is usually used by ANBU to interrogate the victims.


	16. The Road to Wave

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: There will be fluff in this one and it will stabilize their relationship together.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 16**

_**The Road to Wave**_

As the one-eyed jounin arrived…

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Kakashi arrived just in time to see the angry deathglares that shot at him from his three students in the middle of the training ground. Ignoring their riled up blood, He then spoke,

"Hi fellows, Good morning."

All three of his 'loveable' students simultaneously shouted,

"YOU'RE LATE!"

Kakashi, as level-headed as he could be, made his very annoying excuse.

"A black cat crossed my path, so…"

Seeing their still angered glares, he decided to drop the useless excuse and get right to the point. He then cleared his throat and began his explanation of the test. He placed an alarm clock on a stump set at twelve p.m. and pushed the timer. He then took out two silver bells and said,

"Today's topic is to get one of these bells from me. Whoever can't, will have no lunch."

Sasuke and Sakura were surprised with the turn of events while Naruto inwardly smirked knowing all to well what this test implied. Kakashi then pointed to three wooden stumps and continued.

"I'm going to tie you there and eat lunch in front of you."

The stomachs of the three genins began to grumble at the realization of why they weren't supposed to eat breakfast.

Naruto paid his empty belly no heed as he began racking his brains for every possible strategy needed for his team to cooperate and succeed. With his hands in his pockets, he took advantage of his preoccupied teammates and placed a **henge** on two rocks in his pocket so that they looked exactly like the silver bells as he mentally said,

'_Kakashi-sensei must be laughing in his head by now. And if I'm right, Sakura should have realized there are two bells.'_

And right on schedule, Sakura then said,

"But wait, why are there only two bells?"

Kakashi's visible eye formed a u shape as he replied,

"Since there's only two, at least one will have to be tied to the log. That person will fail since he failed to complete the mission. The person will have to go back to the academy. It might be just one or all three. You can use your shuriken. You won't be able to get this unless you have the will to kill me."

Sakura then protested as she said,

"But that's too dangerous, sensei."

Kakashi paid it no heed and monotonously continued.

"We will start after I say, 'Ready, Start."

Naruto inwardly grinned as he removed his hands from his pocket while secretly holding the fake bells and charged at the one-eyed jounin. He ran fast enough for a genin level, but slow enough so that Kakashi would underestimate him. His teammates gasped at the sudden outburst of Naruto as he charged their jounin-sensei. Halfway through to the white haired jounin, Naruto swung his right arm down revealing his hidden kunai which raised an eyebrow on Kakashi and caused Sasuke and Sakura's eyes to widen. They knew Naruto was armed to the teeth, but to even hide a kunai in his sleeves? When the young blonde readied the kunai in a reverse grip to stab the jounin, Kakashi then took advantage of the situation as he began putting the blonde in the same submission technique he was once in during his past lifetime. Naruto of course, knew how his sensei did that this time, as he saw every movement in slow motion. Naruto then quickly stole the bells from Kakashi and replaced it with the fake ones without him even noticing as he gripped the real ones along with his kunai and was forced to submit in the same position as last time with his kunai aimed at the back of his neck.

Sakura and Sasuke were shocked at the speed and skill that the jounin displayed to them. Kakashi then said to the brash young blonde,

"I didn't say 'start', yet. And by the way, nice tactic with the concealed blade, it really caught me off guard there although your movements were a bit to slow making it easy to predict."

Sakura and Sasuke took a few steps back as Kakashi released his grip on Naruto. The young blonde then irritatedly remarked,

"Kuso! I thought I had you there with my hidden kunai! Guess I have to think harder if I want to beat you."

Sakura and Sasuke were utterly shaken into seriousness. Naruto was able to catch him off guard because of the concealed weapon but obviously, it wasn't going to be easy to truly catch the one-eyed jounin off guard in time to take the bells.

Naruto inwardly grinned once more as he saw the shaken morale of his team as he retracted the hidden weapon back in its sleeve. Kakashi of course, made a mental reminder of the new revelation about the young blonde and became even more wary off him but not to the point it was an actual threat. This would change however as the blonde had deviously prepared for this day.

Kakashi then said,

"It looks like you have the will to kill me. I think I can begin to like you three. We're going to start now."

The three genins took a defensive position as they prepared themselves for the test. Kakashi saw their ready forms and decided it was time to begin. He then gave them the signal and they took off into the forest.

When all three disappeared from sight, Kakashi took a look around as he began to look for their presence within the area. He managed to locate Sasuke in the tree branches near the forest to his right and Sakura in the underbrush of the bushes in the same direction and mentally said,

'_Good, everyone is hidden nicely…'_

His thoughts were broken as he looked in front of him and saw Naruto standing there with his arms crossed. He sweatdropped as did Sakura and Sasuke at the stupidity of the young blonde as he screamed at the jounin in front of him,

"Let's have a match fair and square!"

Naruto then intentionally charged recklessly once more before stopping midway as he saw Kakashi reach into his back pouch. Naruto then revealed his hidden kunai in his right hand as he took it in a reverse grip and steeped his stance deeper to prepare for any assault. What Kakashi pulled was exactly what Naruto was expecting, the first edition of _Icha Icha Paradise_.

'_Everything is going according to plan Kyuubi. Looks like we'll be out of here in no time.'_

Sakura and Sasuke both blushed as they saw the book for they knew of its contents as they have been able to read it. They were surprised at how laid back their sensei was to them. But after seeing how he treated Naruto earlier, they weren't dropping their guard anytime soon.

Kakashi then read the book and giggled pervertedly after every page. Naruto then took this chance and recoiled his blade and then made his trademark handseal and said,

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

He made ten clones and charged at the busy jounin while one clone lagged behind in the back. Kakashi then took another mental note.

'_Oh? So he knows the __**Kage Bunshin. **__Not bad. It's pretty useful in training and reconnaissance. But…'_

The clones gave it all they got as Kakashi evaded their blows and made several counterattacks without looking up from his book. Until he spotted the clone lagging behind and swiftly got behind him in the all too familiar kneeling position as he said,

"A ninja should never allow himself to be caught by the enemy behind him."

Kakashi had his book in between his hands in the tiger seal as he pointed it in the only place were it would matter up close. Sakura and Sasuke who were observing the battle, were shocked at what was going to happen.

Sakura then mentally said,

'_That hand position…is he going to use a high level ninjutsu on Naruto?'_

Sasuke who knew the seal all too well mentally said,

'_That seal is for…Fire Elements. That teacher isn't going to just run around.'_

Sakura panicked as she realized that Kakashi-sensei wasn't just going to beat around the bush this time. She then screamed,

"Naruto, run! You're going to die!"

Naruto didn't respond as Kakashi said,

"You're too late. **Konohagakure Hiden, Taijutsu no Ougi, Sennen Goroshi!"**

Naruto's anus was the target of the attack as Kakashi threw his fingers into it and sent the young blonde screaming and flying into the air as his remaining clones dispersed causing his temmates to sweatdrop as Kakashi smirked at his triumph and said,

"Well, that should help him cool off. Now for the—"

Before he could speak again, the Naruto that was sent flying into the air, puffed out of existence. He felt a familiar presence behind him and the voice of a familiar loud mouth genin speak as it said,

"Like you said Kakashi-sensei, a ninja should never allow himself to be caught by the enemy behind him.** Konohagakure Hiden, Taijutsu no Ougi, Sennen Goroshi!**"

Kakashi was sent screaming and flying into the air as he dropped his scandalous orange book allowing the young blonde to nab it and disappear in the foliage. His two teammates were surprised and embarrassed nonetheless by the antics of the young blonde and the one-eyed jounin. But why didn't he take the bells like he was supposed to and took the book instead? Their questions were soon going to be answered as Naruto appeared behind each of them. This time of course, he purposely let them feel his presence so that they would turn around and see him.

The Naruto behind Sakura then said to her,

"Sakura-san, I've figured out the purpose of this survival test. Let's head further in the forest. Sasuke's waiting there for us."

When the pink haired girl heard the mention of Sasuke, she agreed and followed him in the forest where Sasuke was waiting with another clone of Naruto. They then sat down as the original opened his map and took out the scandalous orange book as the clone disappeared. Sasuke then broke the ice and said,

"So what do you mean you found out the purpose of the test? Isn't it about grabbing the bells?"

Naruto shook his head as he said,

"Not really. I figured it out as Kakashi-sensei explained the instructions. You have to read what's underneath the underneath. The test is about teamwork."

Sakura frowned with a questioning expression as she said,

"Explain."

Naruto then said,

"Think about it. All the genins are each put in a four man cell, right? Yet the test has only two bells and not three so one is supposed to fail no matter what…or at least that's what it looks like. Then there's the other thing in which we are faced with an opponent much stronger than us, a jounin of a greater level and experience than we can handle alone."

Sakura and Sasuke nodded but were still confused. Naruto then continued his explanation.

"When we look at the scenario, it forms out like this…We are faced with an opponent much tougher and stronger than us in our current strength. The only way we can ever get a chance at taking the bells is because we are a team. But the number of bells shows that one of us would fail anyway so it breaks our teamwork and we end up going at it alone since it's an all or nothing type of test. But then why were we put into groups in the first place?"

Sakura was the first one to understand it as she slapped herself and said,

"The bells were just a distraction! It's not about getting the bells but working as a team even if it means the impossible. I think I'm the one who should be blonde in this group. Is that why you didn't get the bells?"

Naruto nodded. Sasuke then smirked and said,

"So that means even if you did get the bells, you would've still failed because you did it alone. I'm impressed. So what should we do now 'fearless leader'?"

Sakura was surprised by Sasuke's remark. Never had the raven haired prodigy this type of respect for Naruto before. Somehow, she herself began to have respect for the young blonde after he got it from her crush. Naruto then decided to go all out with his planning as he said,

"We still have to get the bells to show that we're working as a team. The reason why I attacked Kakashi-sensei the second time was for me to find a weakness that we can use to our advantage, namely this book since he was so preoccupied with it. Right now he should be pissed off as hell looking for it. Since I have better taijutsu skills than Sasuke, I'll hold on to the book and become the decoy. Sakura-san, use the time I'm buying for us to cast a genjutsu so that when I give the signal, it looks like Sasuke made a fire jutsu and burned his book so that we can catch him completely off guard for Sasuke to grab the bells. It won't be easy since we have to time it right or else he might realize it too soon and we would fail at getting the bells. If we get this right, we can be out of here with some time left in the afternoon are we clear?"

Sakura and Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement as they continued to listen about the brilliant plan of Naruto. They were amazed once again with his knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses and the way he went about the entire test with his strategic prowess.

Kakashi was beginning to get amused as he felt their presence clustered in one area as he thought to himself,

'_So they decided to go for a team approach instead and it probably has to do with my book. Looks like things will get interesting. I wonder how they will do on their first mission?'_

Kakashi warily entered the forest in search of his team. When he entered a slightly confined area in the forest, he saw two shuriken flying at him. He evaded the first one as the second one zoomed past him. Just when he thought he was safe, the shurikens behind him transformed into clones of Naruto that each had wire wrapped around the right arm of one and the left of the other with the wire connecting them. They ran around Kakashi and tying him with it only for the one-eyed jounin to transform into a log allowing him to quickly knock out the clones only for him to grow wide eyed as he saw an exploding tag on them. Without time to move quickly he dove into the ground to avoid the explosion as it's loud and flashy destructive force burned that patch of land and shook that side of the forest.

'_Explosive tags. They're much clever than I thought. Better be careful or else…'_

Kakashi was broken from his chain of thoughts as he stood up to evade another attack by Naruto. This Naruto had Kakashi's book on him. The young blonde attacked carefully so as not to arouse any suspicion of his true strength while keeping the white haired jounin at bay.

Naruto then threw down his right arm allowing the hidden kunai to reveal itself as he charged to stab the jounin. Kakashi evaded to the side as he nimbly took back his book from Naruto's pocket. Unfortunately, it was a trap as he noticed wire was attached to the book. When he traced the wire to its source, he was wide eyed once more as he saw it was attached to Naruto. The young blonde grinned deviously as Sasuke appeared and formed handseals for a familiar jutsu. Kakashi's visible eye grew wide at when he realized what jutsu Sasuke was performing. Sasuke then hollered out,

"**Katon, Hosenka no Jutsu!**"

Sasuke blew the fire on Naruto who was consumed by the flame as the plumes of fire traveled quickly on the wire. Kakashi tried to reach his kunai with his other arm when he realized that it had another wire wrapped around it, restraining him to his spot. He had no choice. It was either he lets go of the book and remains alive or gets singed by the flames. He hung on the book for dear life as he closed his eyes and heard Naruto shout,

"We got it Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi was bewildered when he opens his eye. His book wasn't singed nor was it attached to a wire and Naruto was still alive. He saw Sasuke behind the young blonde release the **henge** and transform back into Sakura. When Kakashi put two and two together, he turned around and saw the real Sasuke with a small smile on his face as he held up the two bells. The one-eyed jounin then said,

"Great job on grabbing the bells. So who's going to get the other bell Sasuke? You only need one to pass."

Sasuke tossed the other bell at Naruto who then gave away the bell to Sakura who reluctantly accepted it. Kakashi then raised his visible eyebrow and said,

"You know what this means Naruto. It means you'll end up back in the academy as part of the sixty-six percent who failed the test."

Sakura then protested.

"But why should he fail? Naruto was the one who said that it was a test about teamwork and made up this plan for us to grab the bells. So what was the real purpose of the test?"

Kakashi then clapped his hands as his eye turned into a u shape and said,

"That is the purpose of the test. The fact that you figured it out means you pass. And I'm surprised that such a brilliant plan was carried out. You mentioned that Naruto was the one who figured it out and planned everything. Could you kindly explain to us Naruto?"

Naruto then nodded as he explained to them.

"I realized the purpose of the test when you explained the instructions to us. We were put in a four man cell so that we can develop teamwork. But your test contradicted that and made us fight for our right to pass. It was a ruse to make us lose that teamwork. And if I was wrong in my understanding…"

Naruto then took out the real bells from his pocket as the bells in Sasuke and Sakura's hands reverted back into small rocks. Kakashi nodded in understanding as he said,

"I see. It must have been at that time you attacked me when you switched the bells. You put a **henge** on those rocks before hand and managed to take my bells from me along with my book am I correct?"

Naruto nodded and said,

"Hait! When you said start, I took the time to hide quickly so I can transform those rocks and then find a weakness by attacking you."

Kakashi nodded as he mentally said,

'_The profile I was given was completely inaccurate. His mind is way beyond what his test scores said. He may be no genius, but he's a lot cleverer than he lets on with the way he handled and tackled the test. But why do I get the feeling he's not giving out the complete truth? I guess I'll have to ask the Hokage what's going on.'_

The white haired jounin then said,

"Congratulations on your effort today team. From now own, we are Team Seven. I'll be headed of to the Hokage's place to file in the report that all of you passed. Good job today team. Dismissed."

With that, Kakashi took the bells and his book and puffed out of existence leaving the trio to themselves. Sakura began to jump up and down in joy knowing she had passed while Sasuke smirked. Naruto on the other hand calmly placed his hands in his pockets as he silently walked away. Sasuke managed to get a glimpse of the retreating form of Naruto before a gale wind with leaves flew by his eyes and Naruto disappeared once again. Sakura looked at Sasuke at saw the bewildered expression on his face and realized what just happened as she said,

"I can't believe he ditched us again. You know ever since he got his hitai-ate, he's become a completely different person. I wonder if he's alright."

Sasuke then gazed back at her and said,

"Why don't we find out?"

Sasuke and Sakura then began walking back to the village until they realized that they didn't know were Naruto lived or where he was at the moment. They sweatdropped at their own stupidity and decided to go their separate ways instead.

----------o)0(o----------

The young blonde was nimbly leaping from tree top to tree top until he felt the familiar chakra and reiatsu signature he was looking for. He stopped just a few meters away were he gazed lovingly at Hinata who was practicing her juuken on a training log. A blush formed on his face as he gazed at her and saw her beauty and boldness. How could he have ignored such a wonderful person all his life? She was brave, caring, intelligent, and beautiful and yet he never saw that and returned back all the love she had for him in his past life because he was much too dense at that time. Of course, now was a different story.

It was then an idea hit him as he masked his chakra and reiatsu and got closer without being spotted. Hinata was panting hard as sweat began to form all over her body. She had been training harder ever since she had grown closer to Naruto. Especially, when she found out that he had similar feelings for her. She was ecstatic as she felt like she was in a never ending dream where her wishes came true.

She struck the log with all her might as every blow devastated the log. Naruto was amazed at how much power she outputted on the poor log. The Hyuuga heiress momentarily stopped to catch her breath as she unzipped her jacket and tied it around her waist revealing her black sleeveless V-cut shirt and mesh undergarments. Even those were already sweaty as several areas were damp with sweat. Hinata had only one thought in mind…

'_I will become stronger so that I can impress Naruto-kun! Just a little more…all I need is a little more…and…'_

She then clenched her fist as chakra started to visibly flare around it. With her strength prepared, she threw the fist into the log…or at least that's what she thought she threw at. What her fist hit instead was none other than the young blonde she adored. She was terrified that she had given a blow to the young blonde that flew a few meters away. Her heart stopped until the skidding form of the blonde became nothing more than a puff of smoke.

"Nice work Hina-chan! That was a good strike!"

Naruto called out from behind her. She looked and saw the log she was giving blows at with Naruto beside it. She was too shocked at what just happened that she seemed ready to faint. Feeling that it was a very bad idea to have played that prank on her, Naruto frantically ran over to her as he said,

"Gomenasai Hina-chan! I-I saw you sparring and thought that I-I could…"

Hinata managed to regain consciousness until she realized how close she was to Naruto. She then promptly fainted in Naruto's arms. The young blonde smacked himself for being so ignorant of her weak emotional state.

'_Kuso! I can be really stupid at times.'_

His tenant just smirked as the young blonde sat down on the grassy plain where his princess lay in his arms. He wished to wake her, but when he saw her pale skinned face return to normal, he blushed at how pretty she was.

'_She's so frail, but she's also so strong. To hold on like this despite the heavy burden she was given, both in her name and standing. Hinata-chan…you may not realize this, but you're my hero. I could never find another girl like you. To me, you're amazing.'_

The sleeping Hyuuga Heiress finally awoken to see her blonde protector gazing at her lovingly as a blush adorned his face. She gazed deep into those flaming azure eyes as her face bore the shade of crimson. She quickly got up and moved a few steps back and sat down on the grass, looking away. She then said to him,

"Naruto-kun I didn't expect you to find me here. But I really got worried when you did that."

Naruto sheepishly replied,

"Gomen, Hina-chan. I should have showed myself before doing that. I'm really sorry for frightening you."

The young blonde moved closer to her as she smiled back at him making him know it was alright. Naruto then grinned as he exclaimed,

"But Hina-chan, that was really cool! You really impressed me back there!"

Hinata perked up at that point as her eyes dampened in joy knowing she had impressed him. She then stood up to meet him face to face and give him something in return for that fateful night in Ichiraku Ramen. The young blonde saw the deep passion and love in her heart as she tiptoed to give her present.

However, Naruto placed his fingers on her lips and shook his head to which she was utterly confused. Naruto's face became very serious at this point, worrying her even more.

"Why Naruto-kun? What's wrong? Is there something bothering you?"

Naruto's eyes gradually showed fear as he trembled ever so slightly. She was even more worried as he sighed and said,

"Hina-chan, do you trust me?" _'This is it. I don't know what to expect, but…she needs to know. I just hope she puts Konoha above all else.'_

Hinata nodded as she said,

"With all my heart Naruto-kun. Why do you ask?"

Naruto then somberly said,

"Hina-chan, I want you to understand that what I'm about to tell you is the greatest secret of Konoha. And I want you to know it because I trust you. However, despite what you may feel, please…promise me you will support Konoha above all else."

"Why are you saying this so suddenly?"

Hinata said as she questioned the young blonde before her. She knew that at times he was more mature for his age, but whenever important matters would arise, he would get serious as those flaming azure eyes of his sharpened meaning he was serious. She and the blonde had known each other for six years now so their bonds developed strongly as she opened up to him and he would slowly, but surely open up to her. He had told her that one day, he would explain everything. And this must be that day.

Naruto then placed his hands on her shoulders and said,

"Please promise me Hina-chan. I trust you with all my heart which is why I'm telling you this. So, please…for me…."

Hinata reluctantly nodded. She had no understanding of what Naruto meant, but knowing how serious the young blonde is at the moment, she agreed.

And so, Naruto began to tell Hinata of his tale, little by little as he saw her become wide eyed at what he was saying. He told her of his story and the reason he was hated in the village as he showed her the seal in his stomach when he pumped chakra to make it visible. He told her about his real age and how he was from the future as well as their tragic end in the seal of the Pheonix. Every word stirred many emotions in the heart of the Hyuuga heiress as she painfully absorbed everything down to the last drop. When he had finished his tale, Hinata was wide eyed and speechless as she bowed her head down. Naruto sighed once more as he turned his back and said,

"I understand if you don't believe me since even I find it hard to believe. But everything I said was the truth. I know you may not like me anymore for who I am but, I'll always be with you and take care of you like the way I will with the entire village of Konoha. I love you too much to ignore you the way I did in my past life. But please, fulfill your promise to me. After all, it's all I ask of you. Arigato Hina-chan. Sayonara…"

Naruto was walking away with his flaming azure eyes closed in defeat as he mentally said,

'_It's over. I said it…I don't know how she will take it but hopefully, she would put the village over everything else. After all, I am the shadow guardian of this village. As its dark angel, I will put it first above all else…'_

As Naruto began to walk away, he felt the back of his jacket gripped tightly by two soft hands as he heard sobbing and felt the dampness of her tears pour on his jacket. He then felt the sobbing sounds muffle as her head leaned on his back. She then poured out her heart to him as she said with tears streaming down,

"I understand now Naruto-kun…everything makes sense now. The reason you have been acting so differently and why the village hates you. You're a hero Naruto-kun! My heart has fallen in love with you even more after finding out the truth. You were always so strong and now I know how strong you really are. What makes you think I could ever hate you Naruto-kun? I love you too much to ever hate you or turn my back on you! I won't ever leave you Naruto-kun!"

Naruto was dumbfounded at her loyalty and deep passion and love for him. In fact, the truth made it even deeper and harder to kill. She was so rooted in love for him that he began to cry himself as he fell to the ground with his head on the lavender eyed girls bosom as he hugged her as if they were back in the seal of the Pheonix to die once more. She hugged him tightly in return as she sobbed on his head before they each wiped each other's tears. Both of them smiled knowing how much love they had for each other. Hinata then placed her hand on his whisker marked cheeks as she mentally said,

'_Naruto-kun…I love you so much even more now that you have entrusted me with your deepest secrets. I want you to know that.'_

"Naruto-kun….I want you to know that I will be with you always even in the afterlife. My heart, mind, body, and soul belong to you and I will never leave you or forsake you. That is my eternal vow to you my kitsune."

The Hyuga heiress sealed it with a kiss on his right cheek. Naruto blushed, but smiled lovingly as he placed his hand on her cheek and said,

"Hina-chan…I want you to know that I will always be here to protect you with all that I am. I am sorry to place this burden on you, but I will give all of me to you even in the afterlife for you are my eternal mate that I will never leave or forsake. That is my eternal vow to you my Hina-hime."

Hinata was so surprised that she was called his princess. Here she was, sitting so close to him and making vows as if they were to be wed. It was silly, but serious and real nonetheless as the sun began to set and the cold breeze began to die down. She then leaned in to his face as their faces bloomed and said,

"I don't have any regrets kitsune. Its alright…I am ready."

Naruto was shocked at what they were about to do as her lips came closer and closer to his. He never felt any happier than this moment as he mentally said,

'_I never expected this…but I'm glad that this happened. I thought she would end up shocked and not knowing what to do, but I was wrong. I don't know how this could happen, but I am so glad that I was wrong.'_

Naruto immediately backed away as he twiddled his fingers and sheepishly replied,

"G-g-gomenasai Hina-hime. But, we're still twelve years old so we can't really do this yet. I'm really sorry. But I need more time to be ready for this."

Hinata was surprised that he was so pure and innocent in such manners despite his true age. But it can't be helped as she smiled, nodded, and twiddled her fingers as well.

'_I guess it's normal for Naruto-kun to be this way. Even I'm too shy to do such a thing with him. I had no control back there with everything being so sudden. After all, to him I just look like a silly little girl while he's a twenty four year old man. But somehow, it doesn't really feel that he's that age.'_

Hinata then rested her head on his left shoulder as they both lied down in the grass talking about sweet nothings until Naruto said,

"Ano, Hina-hime…why did you call me kitsune?"

Hinata then replied,

"I guess it's because, somehow, you remind me of one. And the fact that you are the jailor of the Kyuubi no Yoko."

Naruto then remembered something he forgot to mention to her.

"Ano…Hina-hime, I forgot to mention to you that, I learned a technique that allows me to merge with my spiritual elemental affinity. It allows me to materialize my true spirit form into my physical body. And mine is a three tailed white kitsune."

Naruto blushed as did Hinata when she realized what he said. She then smiled deviously as she looked at him and said,

"So you've been stalking me ever since Mr. Fox. I'm very flattered. I never would have expected you to have picked up one of my own habits. But that means you've seen me naked a few times."

Naruto blushed even more as he timidly said,

"G-gomen Hina-hime. But when I saw you naked the last time, I didn't expect you to have taken a bath. I only saw you once that's all. You're really scaring me right now."

Hinata giggled as she placed her arms inside his jacket and hugged him feeling his developing muscles. She had never done this before, but she had changed over the years and so it was just a matter of time before her real self came into the light. Naruto smiled lovingly at the angel in his arms. He had never felt happier as they lay there till sunset talking about many things.

Eventually, it came to a point in which they talked about more serious matters including the chuunin exams and the Akatsuki. In fact, she volunteered to train with him so that she can become stronger for him during those times as he prepared for battle.

Meanwhile…amidst the happy moment the new couple was in, Kakashi was deep in the forest of training area forty-four as he gazed in astonishment at the hollowed tree that was presumably Naruto's home. Dumbfounded and angry at the predicament his student was in, he said to himself,

"Naruto, I'm sorry that you had to go through this. I failed you as your sensei for being so ignorant to what happened after the Uchiha massacre. But you don't have to carry the weight on your own."

He took several steps before he noticed that there were booby traps all over the area where he was about to make his next step. He took a step back and sighed knowing that these traps were all well placed and well constructed to prevent entry from outsiders should they happen to have found his hiding place.

After Kakashi had asked of the Hokage of Naruto's predicament, his suspicions were confirmed when the Hokage had similar thoughts as they both decided to investigate the matter deeply.

When Kakashi was informed of what had happened after the Uchiha massacre, he was shocked at how low the people would go to find any decent excuse to kill the poor boy and how thrilled they were when they found out a seemingly 'plausible' accusation that Naruto was behind the massacre in the first place.

Kakashi took flight to the apartment of Naruto where he would discuss the matters with him. When he saw the burnt down rubble that was Naruto's apartment he sighed knowing what the Hokage said was true and went to the place he was informed by the old warrior as to where Naruto was currently living in.

Kakashi then silently waited for the young blonde in a nearby tree as the sun began to set. And just in time, Naruto had appeared rather suddenly before tripping on his own traps as one trap over another began to activate upon the clumsy blonde.

He ducked, dodged, dove and jumped over every obstacle which mainly consisted of ducking from spiked branches that swung to pierce his head, dodging kunai, senbons and a form of black gum that melted whatever it touched, dove into the ground from being smashed by several logs with poisoned spikes attached at each end and finally jumped over the multitude of caltrops and spiked pits coated with a special acid that burns flesh with ease. The one-eyed jounin sweatdropped at the irony that was set before his visible eye. Here he was, the intruder sitting at a tree branch to avoid possible traps and yet the one who set them was the one who fell for it. Naruto cursed himself for falling for his own traps as he angrily tore down the traps before entering the small hole under the roots of the large tree that was his home. Kakashi then turned on his heel and left the forest instead so that he can ask Naruto when he wasn't in the mood to tear apart anyone.

----------o)0(o----------

Many days passed for team seven as they routinely accomplished their D-rank missions. Naruto spent most of his rest days training and spending time with Hinata. She was slowly but surely gaining more confidence in herself as they spent more and more time together. Thankfully, their relationship hasn't gotten out in the open to most people so they were able to keep it hidden for the moment as they happily enjoyed each other's company.

Naruto taught her a lot of things to which Hinata drove herself hard to learn whenever they weren't on missions. Though her zeal was real, Naruto knew she was burning herself out and decided to lighten and shorten the training so that they could relax and spend more time together.

Though she had greatly improved having learned to walk on trees and water and the basics of harnessing reiatsu as well as learning one or two jutsus, she still had a long way ahead despite having an apt for the training. Naruto knew this and always encouraged her allowing her to shine every single time. However, the happy moments didn't last as another D-rank mission was given to team seven and Naruto knew exactly what that specific mission entailed.

----------o)0(o----------

The trees that shrouded the area left little to no room for the high risen sun to pierce through with ease. Four figures hid amongst the shadows as they slinked closer to their intended target. One of the figures then placed his finger on a button of his choker and said,

"This is Snake, arrived at point B." _'Why the hell am I Snake? I shouldn't have let Naruto pick our code names.'_

Another figure approached from the tree branches and placed a finger on the button on her choker and said,

"This is Cherry Demon, arrived at point C." _'__**Kuso! I'll beat the crap out of Naruto for giving me such an evil codename Shannaro!'**_

The last figure then made it at his post and placed his finger on his choker to confirm his location as he said,

"This is Kitsune, arrived at point A."

The fourth figure that was nearest to the target then placed his finger on his choker and said,

"Okay seventh unit…capture the target!"

All three of the four figures charged and captured the mysterious target. It didn't see them coming as Naruto managed to get his hands upon the target and tie up its paws together.

Kakashi then said from their intercoms,

"Does it have a ribbon on its ear? Is it our target Tora?"

Sasuke calmly then reported,

"It's the target for sure."

Kakashi then went closer to them and saw the hissing cat, hog-tied to prevent it from escaping. He sweatdropped as he saw the grinning Naruto triumphantly holding the cat by the end of the rope with Sakura worried as hell about the now helpless feline caught in the clutches of her devious teammate while Sasuke hadn't a care in the world about the cat. Kakashi then said,

"Okay, 'Operation Capture Tora the Lost Pet' complete. Let's head over to the academy to report to the Hokage about the mission."

Sasuke then approached the blonde as did Sakura with a menacing look on their faces as they simultaneously screamed at him,

"WHAT'S WITH THE STUPID CODENAMES BAKA?!"

Naruto just laughed making them even more agitated as the young blonde then replied,

"What's wrong? Isn't it great that we have codenames? I think it suits the both of you just fine."

Sasuke had veins throbbing in his head as he said,

"I don't care much about the codenames but why am I named Snake?"

Naruto then replied,

"C'mon! It doesn't mean anything wrong. Besides it suits you. Now unless you had longer brown hair and a bandana and a full beard and a connected mustache, then the name Snake takes on a whole new meaning of cool. But then again, if you had really long black hair, a pale face, with purple eyeliner and yellow slit eyes, and then the name Snake takes you to a whole new level of gayness and pedophilia."

Once again they marveled at the young blonde's vocabulary and subtle insults to the raven haired boy. Sakura then ranted next to Naruto who reminded her that it was the second meaning of her name making the pink haired banshee even angrier as her colorful language filled the air as Naruto ran towards the academy to avoid being pummeled to a pulp.

When they finally arrived, they understood why the cat ran in the first place as they saw the helpless feline being drained of its life from the clutches of the Wife of the country's Fire feudal lord. Team Seven shuddered at the thought of being clutched in such a way.

The Hokage sat at the long table with many other chuunins as he looked over the report of Team Seven. While looking over the list of missions available, he then said,

"Now then, Kakashi's seventh unit's next mission is…Babysitting Yojyu-sama's boy, Grocery shopping at the neighboring town, helping dig up potatoes at…"

Naruto carefully planned for this day. He knew that it had to come sooner or later since Haku and probably Zabuza would be favorable allies during the chuunin exams and beyond. He then did exactly the way he did it in his past lifetime as he said,

"NO! No thanks to all of those! I want to do more exciting missions! Choose something else!"

Sasuke and Sakura nodded in agreement feeling exhausted of doing menial work like the D-ranking missions they were periodically given.

The brown haired chunnin with a scar across his nose known as Iruka beside the Hokage, then protested as he said,

"Baka! You're still a novice shinobi! Everyone needs to start with the easy missions to gain experience."

Naruto then sat down on the floor as he crossed his arms as he said,

"So what if we are? Everyone needs to start somewhere just like you said. But if we keep doing these easy missions, then how can we really gain experience for real life situations when we need it the most? Besides, we have Kakashi-sensei looking out for us so if anything goes wrong, he can handle it."

Although Naruto had a good point, Iruka was worried nonetheless since they were still fresh genins not ready for such a scenario. When he was about to protest once more, the Hokage then raised his arm to silence Iruka as he took over for the worried chuunin. The old warrior then took his pipe and began to smoke as he explained to Naruto the reason for such menial missions.

"Listen Naruto, a lot of clients come to this village everyday. They request things from babysitting to assassinations. On the request list, a variety of requests are listed on it…and they are separated into ranks such as A, B, C and D according to difficulty. In this village, we separate the people into Jounins, Chuunins, and Genins according to their abilities. We higher officials assign the missions to ninja with the appropriate abilities. And if we complete the mission, we receive a fee from the client. You have all become Genins just recently, so D-rank missions are best for you"

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement. Sarutobi just smiled seeing the blonde accepted his point until Naruto said,

"Even if we are just genins, these missions are so boring! I want to be able to test my skills on real missions so I know how strong I am and how strong our teamwork is. What use is all our training and efforts if we continue to stay in these easy missions where we can't really use anything we've trained hard for?"

The Hokage just sighed knowing that Naruto wasn't going to budge from this. But he wondered why Naruto was so eager to go after a hard mission so quickly? Sure he was bored, but from what he had observed from the young blonde lately, Naruto was much more patient and understanding than before and the way he talked had become different despite it being subtly hidden under his loudmouthed personality. Sarutobi slightly tipped his white cone hat signaling Kakashi to bring out his infamous orange book. The one-eyed Jounin knew what the old Hokage was implying and was ready to continue his investigations of Naruto's hidden agenda.

"All right Naruto…I give up. I will assign your team a higher ranking mission."

Iruka was distressed as Naruto leaped up from his seat while the old Hokage took the yellow scroll beside him with the letter C written in bold all over it. He then unraveled the scroll and said,

"You're going to escort a person back to his country of Wave. He's important to the country's economy so make sure to get him back in one piece. Will you please come in now?"

And so Tazuna showed himself as he slid the door behind the team open, drunker than a skunk with sake bottle in hand. he had a rope tied on his forehead and a heavy baggage on his back with several holsters for his sake bottles while he had glasses and wore a sleeveless, dirty dark green shirt and mocha colored pants and a purple obi sash. Naruto smiled seeing the old man once again. He knew very well the mission and what happened in Wave. He missed Tsunami and Inari as well. The drunk old man then came in and said,

"What? They're all kids! Hey, is the smallest one there with the idiotic face really a shinobi?"

Naruto's tenant chuckled evilly while the young blonde made it look like he was struggling to hold his temper when in fact he didn't mind it at all. The old man then introduced himself.

"I am the bridge building expert Tazuna. Once I have returned to my country, I will have all of you protect my life with yours while I complete the bridge."

Soon, they arrived outside the gate and began their long journey to Wave. Naruto was busy reading his black book while he took point out front. Behind him was Tazuna on the right, Kakashi beside him and Sasuke beside Kakashi with Sakura beside Sasuke.

Kakashi and Sasuke were curious with what Naruto was reading. Unfortunately, the young blonde's head was covering the book so they gave up on the idea.

As they moved onward, Naruto could feel the uneasiness of Tazuna even though he couldn't see the old man's expression as a tear of sweat poured down his face. Naruto knew that the Demon Brothers were close by. With just a little more concentration, he was able to locate their position. As the team moved onward, Naruto saw the puddle a few meters away and closed his book and tuck it away. Kakashi and Sasuke then sharpened their gaze at Naruto until the young blonde let out a yawn and placed his hands behind his head.

As the stares softened, Naruto began to debate what to do about the two ex-mist nins with his tenant.

'_Should I let them live, or die?'_

**I think you should cut them down and burn the remains. If you're up to it, feast on their flesh.**

'_Forget that I ever asked you…but other than these two missing nins, there are other chakra and reiatsu signatures on our trail. They're pretty faint since they're much farther behind us, but they're definitely after us.'_

**Right now, worry about the two nins ahead of us. Once they're taken cared of, we can deal with the ones fast approaching behind us.**

Naruto nodded causing Kakashi and Sasuke to eye the boy carefully not knowing what was happening. When they came close to the puddle, Naruto then spat at the puddle causing Sakura to yelp in disgust at her blonde teammate. Kakashi however shook his head knowing who was hiding in that puddle. And when the team had left the puddle, the two angry ex-mist nins leaped into action and charged at the young blonde falling for his trap. They threw their chains at the young blonde and squeezed him to death. The choke hold on his body was too strong that it ripped through his flesh and bones leaving blood to spew out of the remains. The other two genins were terrified by what just happened. Kakashi on the other hand knew what Naruto did and turned to face the chuunins who ripped through him with their claws leaving another heaping pile of flesh as they ran towards Tazuna. Sasuke then leaped into action and threw a kunai at their chains connecting them which ended up pinned on a tree. They struggled and broke the chains with little effort until two Narutos with kunai drawn, landed on top of them and quickly slit their throats leaving blood to spray and color the ground as their dead bodies slumped to the floor.

"Nice job Naruto. But you didn't have to kill them."

Kakashi said emerging behind the blonde. Naruto then dispelled his clone and took back the other bloody kunai it dropped and cleaned it before returning it to its holster. Tazuna was left speechless as did Sasuke. Sakura on the other hand was confused and said,

"But I saw you two were torn apart! How did you—"

"Live? **Kawarimi no jutsu** is a useful technique for escape you know."

Naruto said looking at the splintered log where he once stood and the other splintered log where Kakashi was as he retracted his other drawn kunai back in his sleeve. Tazuna then fell down on his behind as he panted by the sudden rush of events. Sasuke and Sakura were no better as they paled in realization that their teammate had just killed not one, but two shinobis. Kakashi then inspected the cadavers before turning to his team and saying,

"These were two missing chuunins of Kirigakure known as the Demon Brothers. I knew they were hiding around in that puddle that we passed earlier and it seemed that Naruto did as well."

They looked at Naruto who began inspecting the two bodies for anything valuable until he found a letter and gave it to Kakashi and began reading his book once more as if nothing happened much to his team's dismay. Kakashi then continued his speech as he read the letter.

"I hid in order to assess the situation while Naruto hid in the trees above them. They attacked Naruto because he spat at the puddle where they hid earlier and then me because I was the strongest shinobi in our group. Normally, if they were simply just raiders, they would have attacked you guys as well, but instead they went for Tazuna with the intent to kill him. Which makes me wonder why when this was a C-rank mission. Could you explain to us Tazuna?"

He finished his deduction of the situation as he showed the letter to Tazuna. It contained only two words, 'Kill Tazuna'. The builder from Wave then gripped the letter and somberly said,

"My country is poor and is currently being ruled by a ruthless man known as Gato. He has a monopoly over the entire shipping industry and if I don't get back to Wave pretty soon and finish the bridge, my people will forever be under his control."

And just in time, the familiar chakra and reiatsu signatures became visible as Team eight had arrived on the scene much to Kakashi's surprise. The entire team eight saw the bloody cadavers of the two missing nins and paled as they saw the mess. Kurenai then approached Kakashi and said,

"What just happened here Kakashi?"

"Kakashi turned to Kurenai and replied,

"What are you doing here Kurenai?"

"I was told by Hokage-sama to head out and join your team on its first C-rank mission. And by the looks of things, I'd say this mission is cancelled."

Kurenai replied. Sakura then asked why to which Kakashi replied by saying,

"These are missing nins hired by Gato to kill Tazuna. Normally, when the threat entails other shinobi aside from bandits and gangsters, it is classified as a B-rank mission. But Tazuna never mentioned that there would be threat from other shinobi and paid for the C-rank instead of the expensive B-rank."

Kiba then looked at the cadavers and asked the white haired jounin,

"So who killed these guys?"

Sakura and Sasuke looked at the young blonde making team eight except Hinata, pale at the realization. Kiba began to tremble as did Akamaru. Shino, though his eyes were hidden from view, narrowed as he looked at the young blonde carefully. Hinata then approached Naruto and asked him,

"Are you alright Naruto-kun?"

Naruto closed his book and tucked it away as he grinned and replied,

"I'm fine Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled knowing her beloved young blonde was in good shape. Kurenai however looked at the young blonde in astonishment while Kakashi held her shoulder gesturing her that 'I'm looking into it as we speak.' The white haired jounin then asked her,

"But why would Hokage-sama send us on a joint mission? He couldn't be that worried."

Kurenai then responded,

"Actually he is. We've just gotten reports that there have been rumors of a man roaming the roads to Wave and many shinobi have been killed on that road when they saw the man. The description from witnesses said he was orange haired and wore a black hakama and kimono and type of cleaver sword as tall as he is on his back. Another description was he had a black long sleeved coat over his hakama and wore a mask and his sword was actually a black nodachi. They called him the 'Orange Death' since you won't live after seeing him."

Naruto and his tenant shuddered at the bitter realization of the description of such a man. They knew very well who the crimson eyed kunoichi was describing and it wasn't funny. Naruto began to inwardly curse himself for using his reiatsu based abilities so often without heeding its consequences. Hinata saw the worried expression on Naruto and she too understood why he was that way because he had told her of his friends from Karakura Town and about his adventures with Ichigo. Of course, this did not evade the watchful eyes of Sasuke and Shino. Kakashi then replied to Kurenai's statement.

"So that's why he sent you guys to tag along. However, we won't go any further since obviously the mission is invalid as of now."

Naruto then protested saying,

"But what about Tazuna-oji-san?! We can't just leave him to die by the hands of Gato or that wandering killer! You heard his story. If we don't get him safely to Wave, then he'll get killed by Gato's men and his country will suffer at the hands of that villain!"

Tazuna eyed the blonde in astonishment while Kakashi then said,

"Naruto, you have to understand that these things do happen. Those men that Gato sent were of Chuunin level. The next thing he would throw at us would be Jounin level since his Chuunins weren't able to get back to report their mission. Who knows what could happen out there."

Kurenai then nodded in agreement as she said,

"Even if we were to head out and continue this mission, your lives would be in danger since we don't know the extent this Gato would go to make sure that he succeeds."

Naruto then shouted at them,

"No way will I back down from this mission! This is the only chance I can prove myself and to everyone else how much of a great ninja I am. I won't let someone like Gato take away the lives of innocent people for his greed and I won't give up on Tazuna-oji-san. His friends are in trouble and I can see he wants to save them the only way he knows how, by building that bridge. If we leave him now, it's like he left his family and friends for dead so he can save his own skin. I don't know about you, but those who break the rules are called scum. But those who don't take care of their friends are even worse than scum!"

Kakashi was hit pretty hard by the devout valor and comradery that he displayed. And he even quoted the very phrase that Kakashi had engraved in his heart. The white haired Jounin was at a dilemma here until he found one way to settle things as he said,

"Ok, so we seem to have a problem deciding. So I've decided to make a vote. Those who wish to continue the mission regardless of the dangers ahead raise your hand."

Naruto was the first to raise his hand followed by Hinata which was no surprise since she had feelings for him. Sasuke then raised his hand and was reluctantly followed after by Sakura. Kiba was a bit hesitant, but the prospect of going on a C-ranked mission excited him and he raised his hand followed by Tazuna. They all then looked at Shino. He just adjusted his glasses and said,

"It's obvious that we're going anyway."

Kurenai and Kakashi sighed in defeat and they continued on in their journey. Since there was the danger of enemy shinobi lurking around, they went into formation around Tazuna with Kurenai and Shino behind him, Kakashi out in front with Kiba and Akamaru, Naruto and Hinata on Tazuna's right and Sasuke and Sakura on his left. Tazuna then spoke to them and said,

"Thanks for lending me a hand. I feel real safe now that there's a lot of you."

Kiba then enthusiastically replied,

"No problem oji-san! Like I'd let Naruto and Sasuke have all the fun."

Akamaru however, kept a keen eye on Naruto and would make a low growl every once in a while at the blonde. Naruto paid it no heed as he continued reading his book while Kiba kept trying to calm his partner down. Sakura who was curious of Wave then asked the old builder.

"So what's the country of Wave like?"

"It's a quiet country, but when I finish that bridge, it's going to be super popular and super rich!"

Tazuna proudly replied to the pink haired girl's question. As the old builder kept speaking about his beloved country, Hinata stole glances at the young blonde every once in a while. Naruto then looked at his beloved lavender eyed girl and said,

"What's wrong Hinata-chan? Is there something on my face?"

Hinata blushed and replied,

"N-no! Nothing's wrong N-Naruto-kun."

She began to twiddle her fingers once more as she looked away with a blush on her face. Naruto however, being the old soul he was, was able to take notice of Hinata's habits and knew when she had something on her mind or not. He couldn't directly ask her, but if they ever made a pit stop, he would. So he just shrugged it aside for the moment. Sakura then grew tired of Tazuna's story and tried to strike another conversation with Sasuke as she attempted to lighten the mood. Eventually, they managed to make a pit stop since the darkness had crept in.

"Alright everyone, we're taking a break so start setting up camp."

Kakashi commanded as they stopped at a small clearing surrounded by bushes and a few rocks. Although Team Seven was prepared for this trip, Team Eight on the other hand wasn't as prepared since they were told to rush at the scene to join up with Team Seven. So Kurenai proposed that everyone would have to bunk beds with each other for the night.

As they began to unload their equipment and build a fire, Hinata ran over to Naruto who was having trouble putting up his tent. She then said to him,

"Do you need help Naruto-kun?"

Naruto blushed as he gazed upon her and sheepishly replied,

"Hait, Arigato Hinata-chan. I've never been good at putting up tents so it always takes me awhile before I can set up camp."

And so they went to work setting up the tent. Naturally, the young blonde was corrected every now and then by his lavender eyed girl as she happily helped him. Occasionally, there came a point that their hands met and she would bloom like a flower whenever they accidentally touched.

Kakashi, with his visible eye in a u shape, saw the cute couple and began to think deviously upon some ideas on how to tease them. Kurenai clearly was happy that Hinata managed to make her move to get closer to him not knowing how close they already were. But the moment she saw the devious grin Kakashi was making under his mask, she frowned and said,

"Kakashi, you better not try anything on those two or I'll make sure that you lose that book of yours and personally burn down all issues of Icha Icha Paradise in Konoha."

Kakashi shuddered at the ice cold deathglare that she gave at him and continued to his chore of cooking for the team. Sasuke began to put up his tent after collecting the last pieces of firewood for the fire. Sakura, who had already set up hers, went over to the raven haired boy and began helping nonetheless despite his attempts to shrug her off. Shino on the other hand unpacked the food as Kakashi began to boil them in a stew. When everyone had settled down, they sat by the fire and ate their fill.

"Oi! Kakashi-sensei! What the hell is this piece of crap?"

Kiba said as he and Akamaru spat out the food in disgust. Soon, Sakura and Sasuke had the same feelings as it infectiously passed around the group. Kakashi sighed and said,

"Sorry, but I was never a good cook."

"Then why the hell did you cook for us?"

Sakura said as she tried to hold her ground from the meal that she just ate. Kurenai then closed her eyes in disgust as she said,

"Anyway, we'll be keeping watch from time to time. The first watch will be me and Kakashi. The second will be Shino and Kiba. The third will be Sasuke and Sakura and the last will be Naruto and Hinata in that order."

Hinata suddenly blushed when she heard that she would be keeping watch with Naruto as she momentarily glanced at him before looking away. Kakashi saw this very clearly and smiled deviously underneath his mask. But eventually, they all agreed as Tazuna was already asleep from all the liquor to protest in any way. Kakashi, with some help from Sasuke and Kiba, managed to get Tazuna in Kakashi's tent for the time being. The two Jounins then took off towards the nearby road for the first watch. Since it was still early, the genins decided to talk around the fireplace as they reminisced on some past times and eventually talked about more recent ones.

"So do you think this 'Orange Death' guy will really appear around here?"

Kiba enthusiastically asked. Sakura decided to answer.

"Well whoever he is, we have Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei with us. And if he does come around, Sasuke-kun will protect us."

Sasuke then looked at the young blonde across him and said,

"Naruto…how does it feel to have killed someone?"

Like a lightbulb, it suddenly flashed in their mind that Naruto had killed two missing chuunins earlier. The young blonde was in a bind since he knew he was being observed rather carefully. His movements in Konoha had attracted a shinigami from Karakura Town and several suspicions from his fellow genins and some adults. He then gazed into the fire as he remembered what he just did earlier and said,

"Pretty normal really. We are shinobi after all. Eventually we will end up killing people on missions. I always kept that in mind till the day that I would kill. And now, it doesn't feel like I did anything horrible…it felt normal."

Hinata gazed upon the young blonde in astonishment. To everyone else, they thought he was lying and just hiding his true emotions. But to the Hyuuga heiress who knew the young blonde well, she could see that he wasn't lying. After all, he was death itself and had fought in a war were killing was the only way to survive. For him to stay so calm despite having killed many people and get a good nights rest every single day meant something.

Kiba then asked the young blonde.

"So Naruto, what's that book you keep reading?"

Naruto then looked at the book sticking out from his jacket. He then faced the crowd and replied,

"It's the BINGO book. I managed to get a copy from Hokage-oji-san and it's pretty useful. I found a lot of info about the missing nins including the Demon Brothers. I can't wait to get the bounty for killing them after the mission. It's a pretty big amount."

"Interesting, May we see the book?"

Shino said as the light from the fire illuminated his dark shades for everyone to see his serious eyes behind them. They were a bit cold, but piercing. Even Sasuke became a bit terrified as he inched away from Shino and unknowingly, to Sakura. Naruto then crossed his arms as he said,

"No way! I haven't finished reading it yet. I want to be able to finish reading it before I lend it to anyone else." _'Great. At least it's not Shikamaru who's here. I would really lose my cover if it was his team who was here instead.'_

Kiba then replied,

"Fine, who cares about your stupid book anyway? I'm done for the night. I'll be bunking with you Naruto if you don't mind."

Kiba left the fire with a tired Akamaru as he crept in to Naruto's tent. Shino had the same idea as he went to Sasuke's tent leaving only Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and Hinata by the fire.

Hinata then rummaged through her rucksack and brought up some rice balls for them to eat.

"Here Naruto-kun. I made them myself."

She said as she handed him the triangular one with a blush on her face. Naruto then smiled and said,

"Arigato Hinata-chan! You should've brought these out earlier. Why didn't you?"

"Because there wouldn't be enough for you to eat if you liked it."

The Hyuga heiress said as she handed out some to Sakura and Sasuke. The pink haired girl then replied,

"That's so sweet Hinata-chan. It's almost like a picnic."

Sasuke then smirked as he said,

"A picnic at night when there's enemy shinobi around and the occasional weirdo that pops up around these places."

Naruto then replied to Sasuke's sarcasm.

"You really know how to make a good mood turn rotten. But I won't let that interrupt me from enjoying this meal. Itadakimasu!"

The young blonde dug in the rice ball as did his other two teammates. Hinata gripped her jacket as her heart pounded hard and fast. She had made those especially for her team so she didn't expect Naruto to dig in her food. She didn't know how he would react. Would he love it? Or would he spit it out like Kakashi's failure of a meal? The young blonde grinned as he said,

"This is really good Hinata-chan! It's a whole lot better than Kakashi-sensei's cooking. You're a really good cook."

The Hyuuga heiress brightened up as she smiled and blushed. Sakura was the next to comment as she said,

"This is good! Hinata-chan, do you think you can teach me how to make rice balls this good? Every time I try to make some, it ends up falling apart."

Hinata then replied,

"Sure Sakura-san. It's not easy to get the rice to stick together, but when done properly it comes out really well."

"Is that so?"

When they looked over Sakura's back to see who spoke, Naruto said,

"Kakashi-sensei! You're done with your shift already?"

Kakashi nodded and said,

"Yup. Naruto, can you wake up Kiba and Shino? And Hinata can you hand me one of those rice balls? I'm pretty hungry myself."

Hinata handed the riceball over to the one-eyed Jounin as Naruto went to wake up his comrades for the next shift. Kakashi then took out his scandalous book and ate rather quickly his meal much to Sakura's and Sasuke's dismay as they sighed in defeat. The white haired Jounin then put his book away as his visible eye turned into a u shape and he said,

"That was great Hinata. Did Kurenai teach you how to make riceballs?"

The Hyuuga heiress nodded as she said,

"Hait. Since no one was around to teach me, I asked her how to cook. I only know how to make riceballs so far."

"Really? That's good to hear. Your husband in the future would be really happy whenever he eats your meals."

Kakashi said making the Hyuuga heiress fluster into the shade of crimson. Sakura giggled when she saw the expression Hinata was making as she nervously twiddled her fingers. Sasuke, however, was tired of where the conversation was going as he went into his tent while Kurenai paid no attention of the conversation by the fire as she went into Sakura's tent and slept peacefully. Sakura, who also was feeling drowsiness befall upon her, went into her tent as she bid them goodnight leaving only Kakashi and Hinata by the fire since Naruto had never come out of his tent when Kiba and Shino took to their shifts. Hinata was packing up her remaining things as she too decided to get some rest. Curious about why the white haired Jounin was still awake, she asked him.

"Why are you still up Kakashi-sensei? Shouldn't you get some rest?"

Kakashi then replied,

"Well, I will in a while. Someone has to make sure that the base camp is alright. Since there are no more places to sleep in, why don't you sleep with Naruto for the moment?"

The white haired Jounin's eye became the u shape once more as he looked at the now blushing Hyuuga at the thought of sleeping with Naruto. Though it had happened many times in the past when Naruto would sneak in her house in his soul's elemental affinity, but in his human form was completely different situation all together. She then reluctantly replied to him,

"I-I shouldn't K-Kakashi-sensei. I-It wouldn't be right for me to s-sleep with him."

"Oh? You're just sleeping together. I don't see a problem with that. I was thinking it would be best to sleep with Naruto since you would be most comfortable with him. It's not like you're going to do anything else in bed now."

Kakashi replied suggestively as he winked at her. Underneath his mask, he was grinning like a madman. Hinata flustered into a deep red color as many thoughts came rushing into her mind. She then forced herself to smile and said,

"It's alright Kakashi-sensei. I'll stay out here instead."

"Oh, but I can't let you stay out here in the cold it's just not proper. And besides, Kurenai will kill me if she sees her favorite student sleeping outside in this dangerous night."

Kakashi replied to her. She had no choice as she was defeated and left out of options. She nervously approached the tent until Naruto came out and said,

"Oh, Hey Hinata-chan what's up? Where's everyone?"

Hinata backed away a few steps to give him room to move out of the tent. She sighed in relief as Kakashi then smacked his head at such a wasted opportunity. The white haired Jounin then said,

"They're all asleep. Shouldn't you be as well?"

Naruto then replied,

"Not really. I had a hard time resting so I needed to get some fresh air. I hope you don't mind."

Hinata who was already drowsy, bid Naruto good night and entered Naruto's tent and slept peacefully leaving Naruto and Kakashi by the fire. Kakashi knew this was the right opportunity to question him and so that he did as he first said,

"You know Naruto, being part of the team is also being a close friend. If there is something bugging you, you can always tell us."

Naruto knew where this was going and said,

"Actually, something is bugging me."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow was raised as the young blonde continued.

"I've been thinking, this is my first real mission outside of Konoha and it made me think…can I really succeed?"

Kakashi then looked at him with all seriousness and said,

"Naruto, it's not really about doing things alone but as a team. I don't know everything that goes on around you, but I do know that you are part of this team and I will do what I can to help you in any way I can. So don't hold the whole world on your shoulders. It's nice to distribute the weight evenly at times."

Naruto felt much better from what Kakashi said. Though it wasn't time to tell him everything, but he knew that Kakashi would be true to his word.

After another hour, the young blonde woke up Sasuke and Sakura as Shino and Kiba slept in Sasuke's tent while Naruto fell asleep by the fire. Kakashi then took the blonde and placed him inside Naruto's tent where Hinata lay fast asleep. The Hyuuga heiress reflexively clung unto the sleeping blonde as she wrapped her right arm around his waist while her head lay in his left shoulder. Naruto unconsciously wrapped his left arm around her making Kakashi smile at the sight of the sleeping couple. As he sat by the fire, he noticed that Naruto had dropped his black book where he was seated. He took this priceless opportunity and opened the book as he said to himself,

"Now let's see what Naruto has been reading lately."

He was speechless and astonished by what was written. Never had he read anything like it. The many passages of writing were all written in an unknown language. He was shocked and amazed by what the young blonde was reading this whole time.

'_I've never seen anything like this before! I never knew that Naruto could read other languages. But if this is written in another language, then that means it doesn't matter who reads this since no one but him can decipher it. I'm really curious now. The deeper I get into investigating him, the more mysterious things get. Looks like I'll have to go to the Konoha Library to find out what language it's written in…if I can find it there.'_

Kakashi then took out his orange book and wrote at the empty back page of the pornographic book, a few of the passages from the black book of Naruto. He then tucked away his orange book and flipped through page after page until he saw a half-filled entry and the pages next to it were empty as well. It was then that Kakashi realized something as he mentally said to himself,

'_Not only can Naruto read the language, but write it. So that means he's been using the notebook and then encrypting his entries in a foreign language. It's rather ingenious for his age. Until I know the language he's been using, I won't be able to understand a thing and the reason he hides it so much behind the cover of the BINGO book.'_

A frustrated Kakashi decided to return the book to Naruto's rucksack and was once again shocked as he saw what Naruto was carrying in his bag.

'_So many weapons and rations as well as a first aid kit! And not a single cup of ramen. It's either Naruto has matured in the sense were he realizes its impractical uses in the field, or it's not Naruto at all. But he does live in the Forest of Death so I'm sure he's learned a thing or two about survival. So the second reason flies out the window.'_

Kakashi broke away from his thoughts as he placed the book in the bag and sat by the fire once more, reading his perverted book.

After another few hours, Sasuke came back carrying Sakura in his arms. This of course, raised an eyebrow on Kakashi when he saw them. Sasuke had a faint blush on him as he told the one eyed Jounin,

"She fell asleep on the way back so I had to carry her."

"Riiight."

Kakashi said with his visible eye in a u shape as Sasuke ignored his sensei's attempt to tease him by laying down Sakura inside her tent beside Kurenai and went over to Naruto's tent to wake him up for the next shift. Sasuke was wide eyed by what he saw.

Somehow, like a sixth sense, Naruto knew that it was Sasuke who was there standing at the tents entrance. But as he opened his eyes, he realized that something or someone was lying on top of him. It was soft and warm and he could hear the sound of breathing on his chestas felt its warmth on that spot in the center of his chest.

When his eyes had fully opened, he saw his sleeping beauty peacefully slumbering on top of him. It would have been a nice view hadn't it been for the fact that it was time for their shift and Sasuke was wide eyed by what he saw from the entrance of the tent.

Naruto then gently rocked his princess as he said,

"Hinata-chan time to wake up."

Hinata quickly woke up and flustered into a crimson color when she saw the position she was in. before she could scream out in embarrassment, Naruto then placed his hand over her mouth and said,

"I don't think it's a good idea to scream right about now."

Hinata nodded as she quickly got up and ran to her post with her face still flustered. Kakashi chuckled when he saw the fleeting form of Hinata as Sasuke fully entered the tent and slept while Naruto marched over to Kakashi with a blush on his face as he told the one eyed Jounin,

"I think you're behind all this."

Kakashi tired to look as innocent as possible but Naruto knew otherwise. It was then that Naruto realized he could do the same thing as well. He had his infamous foxy grin as he carefully crept into Sakura's tent and placed her in his tent beside Sasuke. He then unzipped her red dress halfway and placed Sasuke's hands inside the dress as Sakura rolled over and slept in a way that Sasuke's hands were wrapped around Sakura's back. The young blonde then deviously unzipped the raven haired boy's shorts and placed Sakura's hand inside the now half open shorts and took out Sasuke's copy of _Icha Icha Paradise_ from Sakura's bag and opened it in the middle and placed it by Sakura's side so that it looked like she had been reading it.

When the young blonde exited the tent, he was snickering silently as he turned tail and ran to his post. Kakashi who was curious at what Naruto had done, took a peek at the tent. He then quickly took out his camera and snapped a photo of them as he snickered as well while putting out the fire and sleeping in the tent where Tazuna slept. If it wasn't for the bridge builder's alchoholic breath, Kakashi would have a peaceful rest.

Meanwhile, on the tree nearest the road as the midnight sky covered the ground in darkness, Naruto climbed up the tree and sat beside his princess and said,

"Even though were on a mission, we can still enjoy the view."

Hinata gazed at him lovingly as she wrapped her arms around his left arm and lay her head to rest on his shoulder as Naruto rested his head upon hers before removing his arms from her grip as he wrapped it around her waist.

It was a beautiful night for romance indeed as the fireflies buzzed around the tree they were in while the stars dotted the navy blue sky. Naruto once more broke the silence as he said,

"Hina-hime, why were you so worried awhile ago?"

Hinata then replied,

"Why wouldn't I be worried? When I saw what happened, I wanted to know if you were alright."

"Don't worry too much about me Hina-hime. I'm fine. But you know, I really don't know how things have come to this. I never expected that things would turn out this way and I'm scared that I might not succeed and that many people are going to die needlessly if I fail."

Naruto's words made Hinata gaze at him with much passion and desire behind her lavender eyes. She understood why he was so frightened. He already lived a life of pain and failure once and he wished not to live it again. She then placed her hands upon his cheeks and turned his face to face hers as she blushed and said,

"Naruto-kun, you don't have to be afraid anymore since I will be here for you…we all are. You don't have to do all this alone. I will be with you for all eternity and will never leave you. I love you Naruto-kun."

Naruto blushed at the proximity of their faces from one another. He wanted so much to turn away, but his heart could not. Instead, he cried in her arms she felt the heavy sorrow pouring out of his heart. She comforted him as she laid him to rest in her arms. When all of his tears had dried out, he then lay in her lap as they gazed at the stars. Naruto then remembered that faithful night under the stars in Soul Society as it replayed once more in his mind. Naruto then said,

"The moon has light because the sun provided light for it. No one is perfect. Everyone is just like the moon, looking for light that only the sun provides. Everyone has his or her own pains that show their weaknesses and the darkness in them. But when they do find that light that can change them and set them free, they become just like the bright full moon out here…a light for others to follow."

Hinata who heard his words then said,

"It's just like the Konoha Fire Lilies that you gave me. It grew because of fire and light that it lacked that the fire gave to it. If you are the moon, then I will be your light. Just as you were the fire to me, the Konoha Fire Lily."

Naruto then sat up straight as he nodded. They were being philosophical and yet romantic in their own very way. They need not say another word as they just enjoyed each other's company. Soon enough, the wee hours of daylight broke through the night as dawn finally arrived. Soon Kakashi and Kurenai had gotten up and arrived at the post for their last turn of the watch. When they arrived, they smiled as they saw the sleeping forms of Naruto and Hinata as they had slept halfway through the watch. Kurenai then approached the tree and woke them up as she said,

"You've done enough already. Get some well earned rest were you can both be comfortable."

Naruto and Hinata leaped down from the tree and walked towards the camp. When they finally found the camp, they entered the now empty tent of Sakura and lay down in the bed peacefully in each others arms. Before they shut their eyes and drifted into sleep, Hinata then went closer to the young blonde and gave him a kiss. As their lips touched, Naruto's tongue began to slither into her mouth as she gladly permitted entry for their lips to lock as they deepened their kiss. Their tongues battled but eventually, they let them wander in the other's mouth before pulling back as a blush emerged on their faces. Naruto then said,

"Hina-hime…We agreed that it was too early for this…but I'm glad that we broke that agreement. Otherwise, I would not have the pleasure of kissing you once again."

Hinata then replied,

"I'm glad to have broken it as well. Gomenasai Naruto-kun but I couldn't resist anymore. But it was a good first true kiss."

And so their eyes shut as they finally drifted into sleep. Eventually, the others soon awakened as the light of the sun rained down on the team. Tazuna had surprisingly woken up early and without a hangover that normally accompanied a night of drinking. Most likely, the reason was because he had gotten used to alchohol. Shino woke up next and began to clean up the residue of the fire. While Akamaru, who awakened next, roamed the outskirts of the campsite in search for food aside from the meal of last night that was left untouched by even the flies. Kiba then joined Akamaru shortly leaving the only other two aside from the young blonde and the Hyuuga heiress to awaken in the most embarrassing situation.

"IIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

It was the scream of a howling banshee as the pink haired girl woke up in utter shock and embarrassment. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Sasuke lying on top of her with his shorts slightly down and open while her red dress had fallen past her waist and her green shorts were slightly raised passed her middle thighs. All in all, it didn't look good as only one thing could possibly describe the situation….Sasuke had urges in his sleep.

While the other couple was fast asleep in their tent, the other team members rushed to the scene. Sasuke had just woken up and was even more surprised than Sakura with his predicament. He quickly sat up making things even worse as his shorts had fallen down. Sakura covered her face as she desperately tried to hide her blush while her inner self was more intrigued to see the shocked raven haired Uchiha.

Kurenai opened the flap to the tent and her blood ran cold as she saw the Uchiha kneeling down in between the pink haired girl's legs. Sasuke had sweat pouring all over his head as he felt the spine tingling sensation that said danger was nearby and swallowed hard as he turned around and made a very bad imitation of Naruto whenever the blonde tried to fake a smile. If it wasn't for the dark shades that hid the Aburame boy's eyes, they would have seen a blush form under them. Kiba covered Akamaru's eyes as his dog used its paws to cover his master's brown ones. Kakashi began to sneak away from the sight until he could hear knuckles crack and feel a dark aura of an angry crimson eyed kunoichi behind him. It was a good thing that Naruto and Hinata were asleep or else they would've died from the several girlish screams that Kakashi made as Kurenai pummeled him with her fists, nails and who knows what as an array of colorful language filled the air.

As the team traveled once more in their formation, all the men excluding Naruto walked with a larger gap between them and Kurenai as they had seen firsthand experience of the saying, 'hell hath no wrath than a woman scorned'. And that particular woman was scary beyond belief.

Sakura had an almost permanent blush on her face as she was a little bit farther in proximity from her raven haired crush that she could not completely recognize from the similar beating he received from Kurenai's wrath.

Kakashi however, felt the full brunt of her wrath as he walked lifelessly ahead of the rest. Not only did he receive a beating that could equal Tsunade's soft punches, but he suffered the most emotionally. He had lost his favorite book as he was forced to witness its demise with his own eyes as she forced him to burn it with his own hands. Had he known better, she could very well make Morino Ibiki's methods of interrogation look like child's play.

And so their journey continues as they traveled to onward to their destination while a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows follows them from a safe distance as they traveled on the road to Wave.

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IT IS FINISHED! I am tired so don't expect another update to come up quickly. Hopefully, this chapter works out great. I need to find more ways to bring the two closer together. I know I'm being too rough on Sakura and Sasuke but I can guarantee that it won't be that harsh on them in the next chapter.


	17. The First Encounter

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: Zabuza's fight scene is here and Ichigo finally meets Naruto again.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 17**

_**The First Encounter**_

As they enter the mist….

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The joint team had finally arrived at the mist covered bay as they peered into the mist that fogged the eerie waters they would soon tread upon to reach the shore on the other side. Tazuna quickly told the boat man that had been waiting for his arrival about the current situation and gladly let the team aboard so that they can further the distance between them and whoever that Gato probably have sent to tail them.

The boat quickly became crowded as the entire team entered it and set sail. It was slow moving due to their combined weight, but at least it didn't break and completely halted. The genins of team eight and seven looked out into the fog to keep watch of any movement in the mist, all to no avail since the mist was far too thick to really see anything at all. Kurenai however was keeping an eye out of the boatman since he could not be completely trusted. Kakashi, who stopped reading his book for the meantime, asked Tazuna.

"So Tazuna-san, exactly what kind of man is Gato and why is he in Wave? I've only heard rumors about him so I'm not certain about details."

Tazuna who had a downcast look in his eyes then replied,

"I'm sure you've heard of him already about how he's the richest man in the world because of the Gato Company. But that's just a cover up. Underneath that, he's an extremely terrible man who hires shinobi and thugs to take over small countries and industries. A year ago, he set his sights on the Country of Wave. He entered this country using violence and wealth as his shield and he quickly took over the island's sea traffic and transportation. On islands like the Country of Wave, controlling the sea means ruling over the wealth, politics, and people of this island."

Naruto then turned around to face the old man and said,

"No wonder Gato is afraid of you. It makes sense that if the bridge is complete, he won't be able to control the people from entering and leaving. He'd be at a total disadvantage and lose his chokehold on your people."

Tazuna nodded in defeat as they saw the unfinished bridge come into view at the right side of the boat. It was huge and magnificent in its grand size. They all awed at the size of the bridge that Tazuna was building. The old builder wasn't extravagant in his words about the bridge because it was the only way to describe it.

Kakashi then asked of Tazuna,

"You knew that Gato sent shinobi to do his dirty work so why did you request for the C-rank mission?

Tazuna looked downcast again as he replied,

"The Country of Wave is poor. Even the Daimyo have no money. We don't have the money to request for an expensive B-rank or above mission.

The boat had finally reached is destination as they entered the arch of the stone steps on the other side of the bridge. The boatman then said,

"It looks like they haven't noticed yet."

"Arigato."

Tazuna replied as they entered the arch. It was a tunnel like structure especially made for boats to traverse. When they exited, they saw the beautiful country of Wave. Mangrove trees grew here and there from the waters that the wood and metal rummaged built houses were built upon. If it were not for the poor state of the country, it would have been a great place to visit. The entire team including Tazuna left as the old builder gave his friend the boatman thanks and continued on their merry way.

As they traveled back on the dirt road leading to Tazuna's home, Naruto was on edge as he took to the front rather quickly. Kakashi took note of this and went out front as well. Soon, the young blonde was able to spot clearly what he spotted before, the location of Zabuza who had been waiting by the bushes. The young blonde sharply threw the kunai from his right sleeve at the bush. His brash act startled his team. Kakashi and Sasuke were on edge at this point until a snow hare appeared from the bushes. Naruto received a huge fist on his head as Sakura said,

"Stop showing off! There was nothing there!"

Naruto then took the bunny by its ears as he recoiled his kunai and said to his team,

"Anyone recognize anything different about this rabbit?"

They all looked puzzled at first, until Hinata said,

"Its fur color is white."

Kakashi and Kurenai were hit with realization hard as Naruto nodded and said,

"Exactly. Rabbits at this time of year have the color of their fur change as the seasons do. But this bunny's fur color hasn't changed meaning it didn't come from around here. I know this stuff since I've done some hunting outside the village walls. Can Akamaru come and sniff the scent of the bunny? It'd be best if we can find out who's been trailing us."

Kiba agreed as he and Akamaru went over and smelled the rabbit. The dog-boy and his companion then said,

"Naruto's right, they're not from around here. The rabbit smells like rain water meaning he's not from around here since it's the middle of summer."

The team then understood that they were to face another enemy up ahead and most likely someone who is of Jounin level or higher. Kakashi and Kurenai took to the front this time while Shino stayed behind Tazuna with Hinata as Kiba took to Tazuna's right and Sasuke his left leaving Sakura to the front with Naruto. The young blonde however didn't let go of his grip on the bunny. He then looked at his teammates and said,

"We haven't really eaten breakfast so who wants rabbit for an early lunch?"

They shook their heads urging the blonde to let go of the rabbit. Naruto, who was hungrier than a tired horse, broke the rabbit's neck and devoured it raw. Sakura was vomiting as she saw the barbaric blonde eat like an animal as he tore through flesh with his teeth. Kiba and his loyal companion were disturbed by the young blonde's beastly way of eating the rabbit. Hinata wasn't doing so well either as she tried hard not to look at the way her blonde lover was eating his meal. Even she could not handle seeing such barbaric ways of eating. When Naruto had finished consuming his catch, Kakashi then said,

"Everyone, duck!"

A huge cleaver sword as tall as a man came swishing in attempting to decapitate them. Hinata then tackled Tazuna into the ground as everyone ducked for cover from the swishing blade. Naruto rolled to the side as he drew his hidden kunai in both hands and quickly stood up in a battle ready stance. The rest of the team got up in a battle ready formation as they saw a man standing on top of the hilt of the giant cleaver sword that had gotten stuck on the tree during its mid flight.

The man had snow camouflage leg warmers over his blue pants that covered his navy blue shinobi sandals. He also had arm warmers of the same pattern that blended with his dark skin that could be seen on his hands and upper body as he wore no shirt. He also had a blue belt buckled over his neck and upper body and bandages over his lower face making it impossible to see his mouth underneath. He also wore a hitai-ate that slanted like Kakashi's except it was on the other side and did not cover his right eye as the shining metal on it that indicated he was from Kirigakure as the wind blew over his dark brown hair while his eyes of the same color stared at the team below with bloodlust.

Kurenai and Kakashi stood in front while Hinata and Sakura stood beside Tazuna to guard him. Kiba and Shino took to their stances while Sasuke stood with kunai in hand. Naruto on the other hand, was prepared as he had planned for this day when it came. Kakashi then eyed the mist nin warily as he said,

"Oh, my, my, you are Momochi Zabuza, the exiled shinobi of Kirigakure no Soto."

Kurenai then looked back at the team and commanded,

"Stay back everyone! He's a dangerous criminal of Jounin level. He's too much for any of you to handle."

Naruto smirked as he then said to his team,

"You heard the lady! Everyone gather around Tazuna he's the number one priority now."

The genins then surrounded Tazuna as they prepared to defend the old builder with their lives. Kakashi was marveled once again at the way Naruto had tackled the situation. The one eyed jounin then thought to himself,

'_He quickly rolled to the side after he ducked for cover and drew his weapons as he went into battle mode. Without flinching or getting ahead of himself, he listened properly and then ordered his team to focus on their objective while keeping levelheaded at all times. It was the same with the Demon Brothers. He took time to assess the situation before acting when the situation became critical and turned the tide of the battle with ease by taking advantage of that critical instance where they would be caught off guard. All in all, he acts like an experienced chuunin. At least if things get worse, we can rely on Naruto to keep Tazuna safe and get them to safety.'_

Kakashi then lifted his headband for his scared left eyelid to be seen. Zabuza smirked as he said,

"I'm guessing you are Kakashi the **Sharingan** user and the woman beside you is Kurenai the Genjutsu mistress."

The entire team except Hinata and Naruto were wide eyed at what they heard especially Sasuke. Kakashi was not an Uchiha yet the title he was given said he had a **sharingan**. The ex-mist nin then turned to face his opponents and said,

"I'm sorry, but I'll need you to hand over the geezer."

Kakashi then told his team,

"Everyone, don't join the battle. Only Kurenai and I am a match for him. If things get dangerous, I want you guys to get Tazuna to safety. He's the number one priority."

Kakashi then completely lifted his hitai-ate and revealed the crimson, triple tomoe eye that was the **sharingan**. Sasuke wasn't thrilled at the realization that his sensei contained a doujutsu of his family when he clearly wasn't an Uchiha. Zabuza smiled under his bandaged lower face and said,

"I'm honored that I can see the **Sharingan** that I've heard about."

Kiba, who was confused by all of this, then let out his frustration as he said,

"What the hell are you guys talking about?! **Sharingan** this and that, what the hell is it!"

Sasuke then calmly replied,

"**Sharingan**…the eye creates it, and it is the power that the pupil generates. Ones who use doujutsu are said to have eye powers that can see through all genjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu and cancel their effects. **Sharingan** is one of those various types of eyes that doujutsu users possess."

Kiba then got the point as he said,

"So it's kinda like Hinata's **Byakugan** in that sense."

Sasuke nodded as he continued.

"But that's not the only ability the **Sharingan** possesses."

Zabuza who was amused by all this then said,

"Correct. That isn't it. The scary part is the **Sharingan** can understand how an opponent's techniques work and copy it."

Mist began to form heavily around the area as Sakura marveled at the fact that her sensei had such a power. Zabuza who was enjoying the moment then said,

"When I was in the Kirigakure assassination squad, your information was listed in the BINGO book I carried asking for your capture, it also noted this, 'the man who copied more than one thousand jutsus, Kakashi the copy ninja. I haven't seen your lady friend's name in the book but I've heard stories of an expert Genjutsu master who could kill you without having to touch you and counter your genjutsu with her own. She was called Kurenai the Genjutsu Mistress."

Kurenai then looked over to her colleague and said,

"Seems you're more famous than the Hokage gives you credit for."

"Same to you."

Kakashi replied as he scratched his head in embarrassment as the entire team except for Naruto marveled at the Jounins in front of them. Kakashi was a lazy ass pervert and yet he was also one of the most dangerous people around from the ex-mist nin's description. And from the sound of Kurenai's description, she was also a force to be reckoned with. Good thing they were on their side. Sakura began to have a new respect for her sensei as Sasuke eyed him warily while Hinata smiled proudly knowing her sensei was a powerful kunoichi. Naruto then, without keeping his eyes away from the bloodthirsty mist nin, said to his team,

"Hinata, I heared Kiba mention something about the **Byakugan**. What does it do?"

The lavender eyed girl got the subtle hint from her man as she replied,

"Aside from what Sasuke-kun mentioned about doujutsus, My **Byakugan** can see in a three-hundred sixty degree vision. It also allows me to see chakra coils and its tenketsus or its chakra points making hiding unreliable against my **Byakugan**. The Juuken style was created to directly compliment this advantage so we can use our **Byakugan** to its greatest efficiency and strike the opponent's tenketsus and stop their flow of chakra."

Sakura then replied,

"So your doujutsu is just as powerful as Kakashi-sensei's. How do you develop such abilities?"

Hinata then shook her head and said,

"They're inborn so they can't be developed by just anyone. They are what we call a Kekkei Genkai. My **Byakugan** is a Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuuga clan while the **Sharingan** if I recall, is of the Uchiha clan. Am I correct Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke then nodded as he said,

"Which is what I'm confused about. He's not an Uchiha so how did he get a **Sharingan**?"

Sakura was astonished by what she heard. Not only was her sensei capable of great feats, but that it originated from Sasuke's family meaning Sasuke was capable of the **Sharingan** and more. Despite her feelings of elation pouring in her soul, she still was in a battle situation.

Hinata then went through some handseals and activated her **Byakugan** as she took Naruto's advice and searched around for any other nins in hiding. She located the nin near the trees fifty meters away from Zabuza's location. It was a bit faint since the nin was at the edge of Hinata's **Byakugan** sight range. Shino then noticed the veins bulging over her eyes and knew what she was up to. Kiba had the same feeling as he saw his teammate and began sniffing the air with Akamaru. He then whispered,

"I can smell another nin in the air. He must be his backup just in case."

Sakura and Sasuke looked at Kiba wondering what he meant. Naruto then said,

"Do you think Zabuza would get out here by himself after having two of Gato's chuunins killed easily?"

"Let's warn Kakashi and Kurenai-sensei."

Sakura said to the team. Shino then held out his hand to her in protest and monotonously said,

"Let us not interfere just yet. I don't think that his companion notices that we know yet. If we interfere right away, Zabuza's friend might head back for backup to make sure that Tazuna-san dies and it might involve something far worse than just killing Tazuna-san. If all goes well, we could ambush him after they take down Zabuza."

Sakura and Sasuke returned gazing at their senseis with utmost focus as they took deeper stances. It didn't make a lot of sense to them at first, but they managed to get the idea as the mist became thicker. The young blonde then focused his chakra and reiatsu as he coated himself with a constant flow of chakra and a consant flow of reiatsu to layer over the chakra. His tenant then grinned and said,

**Using the same method your mother taught you. I believe you've solved our Zanpakuto release problem as well. But remember, someone else is watching from a distance our battle so make it look good.**

The ex-mist nin, perched on his sword stuck on the tree, knelt down and said,

"Let's cut the chit-chat here. I have to kill that geezer right away. But Kakashi, it seems that I have to defeat you and the Genjutsu mistress first."

Kurenai then took a step back and drew her kunai as did Kakashi. The other genins took a much deeper stance as Zabuza withdrew his sword and ran into the middle of the lake astonishing the other genins aside from Hinata and Naruto as the mist nin began forming a one-handed seal. Water began to spiral around the nin and evaporate into mist. The ex-mist nin then said,

"**Kiri gakure no Jutsu!"**

The nin then disappeared in without a trace leaving a thick fog of mist. Kurenai then asked her fellow colleague,

"You've been out on the field long enough Kakashi. What exactly is Zabuza?"

Kakashi then replied,

"Momochi Zabuza, he was in the Kirigakure ANBU, and was known for his 'silent killing' techniques. Just as the name implies, it's a killing technique that's executed in a flash and carried out in absolute silence making it possible that you'll be dead before you realize it. Another thing…I can't use my **Sharingan** to its fullest potential in this mist. So don't let your guard down."

Kurenai nodded as she began making handseals and disappeared in a blaze of cherry blossom petals. The thickening of the mist provided no comfort for the genins as they felt a spike of killing intent leak out of the mist. Hinata mustered all her strength to calm down as she located Kurenai in the tree branch where Zabuza was once perched. Naruto, who was beside his beloved princess, then said,

"Don't worry everyone. As long as we keep together we'll make it through."

Soon, the mist thickened enough that they completely lost sight of the white haired jounin and Hinata could no longer see Kurenai with her **Byakugan**. Sasuke could feel the tension rise as the mist grew in thickness. And like a knife to their hearts, Zabuza's voice echoed through the mist.

"Eight points…the larynx, spine, liver, jugular, vein, collarbone, kidney and heart. Now which vital organ do you want to get struck at?"

Sakura was trembling with fear as her other companions were no better. But as she looked at the young blonde, her thoughts began to tell a different description about him.

'_Look at him. He's not even scared one bit. He's completely calm like it was an everyday happening. It was the same with the two chuunins he killed earlier…without remorse or emotion. It's as if he's done this sort of thing before…what is he?'_

Kakashi could feel the tension rise very abruptly and then placed his hands in a handseal as his chakra flared out and blew away the mist. His killing intent radiated as it cancelled Zabuza's. Naruto just smirked at the sudden breeze of killing intent while Sasuke was inwardly panicking as his thoughts raged in his broken mind.

'_What an intense thirst for blood…one breathing motion or one eye movement will be detected, and it'll get me killed…that is the atmosphere I feel. If I stay here for an hour, I'll lose my mind. The murderous intent of these two Jounins clashing…the feeling that my life is in someone's hands…No…I would rather kill myself to escape this feeling!'_

The raven haired Uchiha nervously brought his hand wielding kunai in a reverse grip as he brought the black blade close to his chest to end his suffering. His other teammates aside from Naruto panicked as they saw him motioning to end his life while they stood there helplessly watching him attempt seppuku.

"Sasuke…"

Kakashi shouted at the raven haired boy as his eyes turned into u shape. He then continued to calm the boy as he said,

"Don't worry. I'll protect you the six of you with my life. I won't let anyone on my team die."

The entire team felt the warmth of Kakashi's words as they recomposed themselves. Naruto then looked behind him and saw Zabuza there with his cleaver sword in a reverse left hand grip as the man crouched low and said,

"I don't know about that… This is the end."

Kakashi gazed back at the man with Sharingan ablaze. The ex-mist nin then raised his sword to strike them all in one blow. Suddenly, he was caught in a tree that grew over his body leaving his arms and legs tied to the trunk while his head lay on the trunk as well. Kurenai's upper half then emerged from the tree with kunai in hand as she slit the man's neck. But instead of the crimson color of blood that normally painted the ground after such an attack, instead, it was the transparent color of water that poured out as the form of the nin collapsed into water effectively dispelling the genjutsu.

The genins leaped back for some leg room while Hinata, who was the closest to Tazuna, stood by the man to guard him. Kakashi then ran and stood by Kurenai to check if she was alright until he heard Kiba scream,

"Kakashi-sensei, behind you!"

Kakashi was then sliced in two as the cleaver sword of Zabuza cleanly lacerated his body. Zabuza smirked until the remains of Kakashi transformed into water and splashed the ground.

"**Mizu Bunshin**?!"

Zabuza said in astonishment until he felt the cold steel of a kunai close to his neck and a familiar voice say,

"Don't move. This is the end."

The expressions of the genins brightened up as they saw how quickly and effortlessly their sensei had subdued the ex-mist nin. Zabuza however, stayed calm through the entire ordeal and smiled under his mask.

"I see that you've copied my **Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu** when you said, 'I won't let anyone on my team die.' By making your clone speak as if it was the real one, you diverted my attention to the clone while the real one used the **Kiri gakure no Jutsu** to hide and observe my movements….However…"

Another clone of Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi.

"I'm not that easy to defeat."

The ex-mist nin struck him with the cleaver sword in a side slash from left to right, as both the white haired jounin and the ex-mist nin's clone was sliced in two leaving a puddle of water behind. Kakashi then reappeared behind Zabuza as he attempted to stab his left side. Zabuza then used the momentum of his initial swing to swerve to the right while the sword came behind the white haired jounin only for him to jump above the blade and disperse into water as Kurenai came charging at Zabuza in attempts to stab his chest. The ex-mist nin then caught her kunai wielding arm by the wrist and gave her a kick to the stomach sending her flying towards Kiba who she fell upon.

"His taijutsu skills are superb…"

Shino said as he helped up Kiba and Kurenai. The ex-mist nin then made a break for the lake. Kakashi then emerged from the lake and said,

"What's with this water? It's heavy for some reason."

Kurenai then ran to the lake to help out Kakashi from his predicament only to get suddenly kicked into the lake by a **Mizu Bunshin** of the ex mist nin. Then three more Zabuzas appeared behind the two jounins and quickly formed handseals and simultaneously said,

"**Suiro no Jutsu!"**

The two Jounins were trapped in spheres of water with one clone's left hand in the sphere of Kakashi and another clone's right hand in the sphere of Kurenai with the remaining Zabuza in the middle. Kakashi inwardly cursed himself for his incompetence.

"I'm sorry I got you in this mess Kurenai."

Kakashi said as he bowed his head in defeat. Kurenai then shook her head and said,

"It's alright. But they need to get out of here as quickly as possible since we've been defeated already."

Zabuza chuckled darkly while the genins could only look in horror as their senseis were kept in a watery prison to which they cannot attack or defend. Zabuza then told his prisoners,

"You idiots fell for it. This is a special prison that you can't escape from. Both of you gave me a hard time when you're moving. Now then, Kakashi and Kurenai… I'm going to finish you off later. First I'm going to get rid of them."

Both jounins grew wide eyed when they heard what Zabuza was going to do as the remaining clone on land began to approach the genins. They were frightened by the sudden turn of events. Naruto however didn't lose his cool as the ex-mist nin said,

"The six of you have forehead protectors on as if you think you're ninjas. But ninja refers to someone who has gone through numerous life and death situations. In other words, you can call yourselves a ninja when you appear in my BINGO book. You six aren't ninjas."

The clone then once again made a handseal and mist covered the area once more. Kurenai then yelped in fear.

"Run everyone! Get Tazuna to safety as quickly as possible!"

Naruto then smiled as the mist finally covered the genins from view. Kakashi was very worried at this point. He knew that they were skilled but against Zabuza they didn't stand a chance.

The young blonde then looked at his fellow genins and said,

"Alright, since Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei are out of commission, we have to rescue them and protect Tazuna."

Kiba then retorted back,

"Like saving their butts will save our skins. I'm not an idiot like you Naruto! We should get the heck out of here!"

Shino then adjusted his shades and said,

"Wrong Kiba. Naruto is right. If we wish to live to see another day and effectively protect Tazuna-san, we need to save our senseis."

Kiba got the point rather quickly as Akamaru whined to his master in agreement. Hinata then approached the young blonde and said,

"Naruto-kun, we will do as you ask of us. How do we save them?"

Sakura and Sasuke had a similar appeal as they nodded at the young blonde. Naruto's eyes became a flaming cyan as confidence emanated from him which tore apart the gloom that lurked in their hearts. He then recoiled his hidden kunai and faced towards the lake and said,

"Sakura keep guard of Tazuna. Hinata, you're our eyes so keep track of Zabuza's movements. Shino, we need you to be the element of surprise so stay with Sakura and find that hidden nin. Kiba and Sasuke you're with me. We'll need to keep an eye out for counter attacks."

Just as Naruto gave his orders, Zabuza's foot smacked the young blonde in the face. While still in midair, Naruto then reflexively made a one-handed seal as two bunshins appeared next to him. The bunshin on his left transformed into a large shuriken which he held as the other bunshin grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him back towards Zabuza. Sasuke and Kiba saw this coming and immediately grabbed Zabuza's free hand while Kiba grabbed the armed hand of Zabuza. The water clone then swatted away the two genins on his arms just in time to block the shuriken tossed at him with his cleaver sword. But it was too late for him to notice the exploding tag on the shuriken as it blew up and eradicated the clone along with the mist.

Kakashi and Kurenai were surprised when they heard the noise but were relieved when they saw their teams unharmed. Kakashi then said to the teams,

"Everyone run! Don't worry about us. Get Tazuna-san out of here!"

"Kakashi's right. Get out of here! What are you waiting for?"

Kurenai then replied to them. The genins however didn't flinch one bit as determination filled their eyes. Naruto then spoke to his senseis with courage in his heart as he said,

"We're not leaving you! If one of us goes, we all go. Besides, it's pointless to run since he'll be after us once he's through with you guys clone or not! If he can get you guys in that position, then how much more us!"

Unfortunately, he had a point. It was the worst battle scenario and Zabuza himself knew it. The ex-mist nin then smirked as he said,

"You're just kids who think that playing ninja is fun and games. Why when I was your age, my hands were already soaked in blood."

His words caused the genins to stiffen once again while Naruto inwardly rolled his eyes.

"The Demon Zabuza."

Kakashi said from his prison. Kurenai then said to her imprisoned companion,

"What do you mean 'The Demon Zabuza'?"

Zabuza then looked at the white haired Jounin and said,

"It looks like you've heard of me?"

Naruto then said to Kakashi,

"What are you talking about?" _'That should rile things up to give Shino some cover. It looks like Haku hasn't decided to move in yet meaning Shino has all the time to get his bugs in place and find Haku.'_

Kakashi then explained to them about Zabuza's infamous title.

"A long time ago, Kirigakure was known as the Village of the Bloody Mist. In that village, there was an obstacle that existed to become a shinobi"

"So you also know about the final test there."

And repeating his past, Naruto then said,

"Hey what is that 'final test'?"

Zabuza chuckled darkly causing the genins to feel uneasiness once more as the ex-mist nin then said,

"Students killing each other."

They gasped in distress at what they heard as Zabuza continued.

"Friends who have eaten from the same pot are separated into groups of two and forced to fight each other…Until one of them is killed. This is done with friends that have helped each other, shared their dreams, and competed together."

Sakura's knees were about to give way in fright as she nervously said,

"That's awful."

Kakashi saw the distressed look on their faces and said,

"Ten years ago, Kirigakure had to go through a reformation because in the previous year, a monster appeared that finally decided it after it killed over a hundred of the candidates without mercy or hesitation."

The genins and Kurenai didn't like were things were going with this conversation. Zabuza smirked as he said,

"That was fun."

They were utterly horrified by what they heard. Naruto then shouted out to his team,

"Demon or not, we have no choice but to move forward. I don't know about you, but I don't let my past bring me down nor do I let any obstacle in my path stop me from moving forward. That is my nindo and I will never back down especially to a guy like you!"

Naruto's words shook his friends from their stupor as their morale rose once more. The Zabuza clone in front of them then said,

"Baka. After all that you still want to run to your death. Well allow me to be your executioner. **Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

The clone then made two more water clones and charged at the genins. Suddenly, a wall of bugs erupted from the ground and hindered the path of the three Zabuza clones and the line of sight of the original holding the two jounins in place allowing the genins to burst through and give the clones a surprise attack. Kiba and Hinata attacked the two clones while Akamaru attacked the third allowing Naruto and Sasuke to move towards the lake with two large shuriken in both the hands of Naruto and one in Sasuke's.

The raven haired boy threw the shuriken at the Zabuza in the right side and quickly threw Naruto in the same direction.

"Baka. It won't make any difference."

Zabuza said as he saw the shuriken approaching with Naruto close behind. The shuriken in flight suddenly transformed into Naruto and threw the original at Zabuza, increasing the flight speed of the blonde as the clone dispelled itself. The young blonde then threw the two shuriken at the Zabuza clones on the side as they hit dead on and killed the two clones as they continued their spinning path while the original was headed straight for the original Zabuza with kunai drawn in both hands ready to skewer through the ex-mist nin. The nin had no choice but to leap back and duck just as the young blonde passed him.

"Kuso! He missed!"

Kiba said as Hinata managed to kill the clone she was fighting. Sasuke however smirked knowing what the young blonde was doing. The original Naruto was about to hit the water until the shuriken that traveled slightly ahead of the blonde, transformed back into clones of Naruto with the original in between them. The clones then latched on to the original and the clone on the right quickly threw back the other two at Zabuza before it dispelled itself. The clone still latched on Naruto then threw the original at Zabuza before dispelling itself making the velocity of the original twice as fast as Naruto lunged his two kunai at the shoulder blades of the mist nin causing the onlookers to be wide eyed as the force of the impact caused the mist nin to skim on the surface of the water before hitting the shore's edge hard with Naruto still latched on the nin's back.

"Yatta! That was awesome!" _'__**Hell yeah Shannaro!'**_

Sakura exclaimed in delight as Tazuna managed to breathe normally once again. As the ex-mist nin stood up he felt the electrifying pain of the kunai embedded in his shoulder blades as the kunai dug deep into his back with only the young blonde's gripping hands outside the wound as Naruto latched himself on the ex-mist nin. With anger boiling in Zabuza's veins, he then yelped,

"I'll get you for that gaki you'll—"

"I think that's far enough Zabuza."

Kakashi said as he interrupted with his kunai drawn at the neck of Zabuza and Kurenai as well with the tip of the kunai pricking his heart area as a trickle of blood began to pour on the blade. There was no room left for him to run to as he stood there, bleeding on his back, while the blades of the two jounins intimidated his death at his front.

The remaining on looking genins kept their guard up despite having Zabuza in a dangerous predicament. The ex-mist nin however, wasn't planning on giving up as he raised his arms behind his back and snappily grabbed the young blonde and threw him at the crimson eyed woman and kicked Kakashi to the side as he ran back on top of the lake. The white haired jounin then took off after him until they both stood at the center of the lake face to face.

"Those were impressive moves. But I won't go down as easily."

The ex-mist nin said with sarcasm in his words. Kakashi, with his **Sharingan** still active, then said,

"The same technique won't work on me twice Zabuza. What are you going to do now?"

Zabuza narrowed his eyes at the white haired jounin as he leaped back and began performing handseals. Kakashi did the same moves simultaneously. Handseal after handseal were performed in congruence without a loss of rhythm or accuracy as the water in the center began to bubble. By the time the handseals were performed, they both then shouted,

"**Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu**!"

Two dragons made of water came out from the bubbling center of the lake and charged at each other canceling what would have been a powerful aquatic attack. Zabuza was amazed at how fast he was able to reproduce the seals and perform the move rather quickly. The genins were amazed by the show of force that Kakashi was able to peform under the circumstances as Sakura exclaimed,

"Sugoi! Kakashi-sensei is dead even with him now!"

Naruto got up and retracted his bloody kunais as Hinata went to his aid. He immediately told her that he was fine she then looked over the tree closest to the roadside and looked back at the blonde. Naruto got the hint as Shino was nowhere to be found. With all eyes on the battlefield, no one could help but look upon the fight between the two ninjutsu powerhouses as the water flooded the banks before receding back into the lake.

'_He formed that many seals in just a few seconds, and copied them perfectly.'_

Sasuke thought as he saw the two jounins still standing like an exact copy of the other.

"That's a shinobi technique?!"

Kiba exclaimed in delusion not knowing what to say after seeing the two serpentines of water crash into each other. However, as the water receded, they were astonished to see Kakashi guarding Zabuza's cleaver sword with his kunai using two hands as they pushed each other in the center of the lake with rain from the receding water of the water attack to pour upon them. Neither one gave way as they stubbornly fought for dominance. However, only Zabuza knew what was really going on in that fight as he thought,

'_Something's weird…what's going on? Sharingan is supposed to be an ability where the user memorizes the opponent's technique and copies it. But…the technique was executed at the same time…could it be…'_

While Zabuza was consumed in his thoughts, a young boy with long black hair tied in a bun on the back and parted in the middle at the front and a mask was perched close to the tree branch near the lake as he watched the battlefield from afar. He wore sandals and a green hakama trousers and a blue mist medic nin kimono over a dark green cotton, longsleeved sweater tied with a brown obi sash. He kept ever vigilant of the battle as he prepared his senbons just in case the fight became too drastic for his companion.

Feeling that he could not gain ground in close combat any longer, Zabuza leaped back as he sheathed his sword on his back while Kakashi did the same thing as well. They both ran around each other as they stood where the former opponent stood. Even in movement the white haired jounin copied it perfectly. Zabuza then made the handseal for the **Kiri gakure no Jutsu **only for Kakashi to have simultaneously copy his movements. He was wide eyed by what he saw.

"He's moving just like him with such perfect timing."

Tazuna said as he finally regained the ability to talk from all the stress of the adrenaline that coursed in his veins from the battle. Zabuza was nowhere near able in comprehending what was going on as he thought,

'_This guy…my movement is being perfectly…'_

"Predicted by him."

Kakashi said mimicking Zabuza's movements as the ex-mist nin placed his hands down. Zabuza was stirred by this as a cold sweat poured down his face as he thought once more,

'_What? He read what I was going to say in my mind?'_

Zabuza then lifted his hands in another handseal as he gazed into Kakashi's eyes with spite as he thought,

'_Damn it. This guy…'_

"Has such unpleasant eyes, right?"

Kakashi said as he mimicked Zabuza's movements.

"What you're doing is just copying."

Zabuza said with hate in his voice as he formed another handseal for Kakashi to mirror as they simultaneously said,

"You can't beat me you monkey!"

The ex-mist nin was really pissed as he began forming handseals once more and said,

"I'll make it so that you'll never open that copycat mouth of yours again!"

Zabuza was even more panicked when he saw the copycat nin mimic his moves perfectly. He began to become delusional as he saw a clone of himself standing in Kakashi's place as it overshadowed the white haired jounin before the ex-mist nin. While he was stunned, Kakashi finished the last set of the handseals of the jutsu and said,

"**Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu**!"

Kakashi's three tomoes spun counterclockwise around his pupil further scaring the ex-mist nin as the water of the lake erupted and began flowing in gigantic proportions as it exploded upon the ex-msit nin effectively sending him to a tree as four kunais, thrown from Kurenai, pinned Zabuza to a tree as the water receded with Kakashi standing from one of the branches as he looked upon his prey and said,

"This is the end. My **Sharingan** has the ability to partially see the future. And right now, what I see is that you're going to die."

Kakashi then drew his kunai ready to stab the man until three senbons struck the nin in the neck rendering him dead as the ex-mist nin's body fell upon the damp ground. The entire team looked upon the direction of where the senbons were thrown from and saw a mist hunter-nin. Kurenai and Kakashi were relieved when they saw the hunter nin. Naruto however, knew better that this nin was a missing nin alongside Zabuza. Kiba then took position with his kunai at the ready and Akamaru growling as the dog-boy then said,

"Great! Another enemy for us to fight. He must be Zabuza's backup just in case something like this would happen."

Sakura stood guard in front of Tazuna while Shino already had a kunai at the hunter nin's neck and Hinata was ready once again in her Juuken stance while Naruto kept steady. Kakashi, who was surprised nonetheless by Shino's stealth ability then said to his team.

"It's alright. He's a hunter-nin. It's his job to clean up the corpse of a shinobi when the shinobi dies to prevent any secrets of the village from being leaked out to the outside world because the corpse was left to be examined. Put the kunai down Shino." _'Kurenai's students are capable. I didn't even notice Shino move during the fight. That boy's stealth skills are superb. But that's to be expected of every Aburame.'_

Shino looked at his sensei for guidance to which she gave him a nod allowing Shino to let go of the nin. The hunter-nin was unnerved by what just happened but regained his composure as he leaped down from the branch and kneeled down by the body of Zabuza and said,

"It was true with your prediction. He did die. Thank you very much. I was looking for a chance to kill Zabuza."

Kakashi then leaped down from his branch as he took a closer look of the body and checked its pulse. He then sighed in relief allowing the genins to do the same. Naruto just made a weak smile as he saw the event play out once more except with more people and a suspicious other individual near the shades of the forest watching them.

The hunter-nin then took the corpse of Zabuza over his shoulder as he said,

"Your battle ends here for now. I must go dispose of this corpse. It's a body filled with secrets. If you'll excuse me."

"Wait a minute."

Naruto said interrupting the nin. They all looked at him questioningly as a confident smirk was seen on his face. With his flaming azure eyes ablaze, the young blonde then continued.

"Why not deal with it here? I feel much safer knowing that he's been taken cared of permanently where I can confirm it."

The other genins were a bit worried about seeing a hunter-nin take care of a dead corpse but they knew it's better to be safe than sorry. However, to Kurenai and Kakashi, the thought triggered something else from their memory as they got what Naruto was implying and eyed the nin carefully without giving any hints of their knowledge. The hunter-nin was taken aback by those words as he trembled slightly until his sharp mind then clicked in when he casually said,

"It wouldn't be appropriate to dispose of the corpse in front of your team since your still in shock from what had just happened. Especially since most of you are genins and disposal can be rough for your conscience."

"But then you would be going against the rules of your job. I remember clearly what Iruka-sensei beat into my head about hunter-nins. He said that hunter-nins will dispose of the body in the place it lay regardless of who is there to witness it. If he needs to bring evidence about his success, he needs only to take the head so he can burn the body where it fell. It took me ten freakin' days to get it in my head right so don't make me repeat myself."

Naruto quickly replied causing the hunter-nin's nervousness to become more apparent as the rest of the genins remembered that rule from their academy days. And to add to the already present tension, Kurenai then said,

"Naruto is right. The genins don't have to see the disposal process, but you still have your duty to do. It's not like your going to betray your oath as a hunter-nin now would you?"

The hunter-nin could not take it any longer and quickly **shunsined** himself and Zabuza away causing Kakashi and Kurenai to confirm their suspicions of the boy. Shino then leaped down from the tree and adjusted his shades as he said,

"I already placed a bug on him when Hinata and Kiba located him earlier after Naruto had a hunch that Zabuza wasn't alone."

Kakashi then approached the team as he said,

"Good work Shino you did great. So did the rest of you. But I'm afraid things are going to get rougher now that they managed to escape. Those senbon needles that he threw at Zabuza were lethal in the sense that they can kill if they hit the right place but with their low chances of killing and a skilled hand, they can just paralyze or in this case, create a temporary death state where the body sleeps to the point of almost dying which is why I couldn't feel a pulse on Zabuza. But overall you did well especially you Naruto. You among all the other genins in this group was the most calm and decisive person during this mission. It's almost as if you've done things like this before. Are you sure you're just a genin?"

Kakashi said as he looked on the blonde while many curious looks followed suit. Hinata inwardly stiffened in shock realizing that they must have been discovered but let no outward manifestation of her feelings take place as the young blonde scratched his head and said with a grin,

"You bet! I can't believe I just got praised for doing what comes natural to me when I get serious. Maybe I should get serious every time were on a mission."

Kakashi still had his suspicions but with everything that just occurred, it wouldn't be the best of times to ask directly. The white haired Jounin then placed his hitai-ate over his left eye once more as he cooled down from the battle. Kurenai then asked the genins,

"Is everyone alright?"

They all nodded as they dusted themselves off as Kurenai then replied,

"It's good to see that most of you just suffered bruises and cuts. We should get moving. Our mission is still far from over."

Sakura then turned to the old builder and asked of him,

"How far is it until we get to your house Tazuna-san?"

Tazuna then tipped his straw hat upward as he said,

"It's not too far now. Sorry about that everyone!"

Kakashi then turned around to face the road and said,

"All right, let's cheer up and go! We can rest in Tazuna's house for the meantime to recover."

As they began to walk once more, Kakashi then began to collapse as his body waned from all the fatigue. Naruto then ran and held on to the white haired Jounin before he hit the ground and said,

"Kakashi-sensei! Are you alright?"

Kurenai then went to support Kakashi's other arm as he weakly replied,

"Chakra…depletion…need….rest…."

And like that, the white haired jounin went out like a light as he fainted from the immense fatigue.

----------o)0(o----------

Daylight struck through window where the now conscious one-eyed Jounin lay in his futon as he gazed into the ceiling. Just then, a black haired young woman still in her mid-twenties came in and looked at the man with worry as she asked him,

"Are you okay sensei?"

Kakashi then replied,

"No, I'll barely be able to move for a week."

He exhausted all of his strength using the **Sharingan** for such a long period of time plus using high level ninjutsus as well. It is a wonder how he can still talk from such exhaustion. However, being a stubborn man at times attempted to sit up as the woman protested saying with her hands on her hips,

"Then you shouldn't move around for a while, then."

Kakashi then lay his head back on his pillow just as the genins and Kurenai arrive at the open doorway and greet him. Kurenai then knelt down beside him and asked,

"How are you feeling? We got worried when you collapsed back there."

He then stuck his thumb out causing the joint team to sigh in relief as they sat around the white haired Jounin. Sakura then said to the prone Jounin,

"**Sharingan** is amazing, but it puts a lot of strain on the body. I'm not sure if that's good or bad."

Naruto then said as he crossed his arms,

"Anyway, by the looks of it, you're in no shape to be fighting. Lucky for us, neither does that bloodthirsty killer if what you said is true about him being paralyzed. So what should we do now?"

Kakashi struggled a bit before he managed to sit up properly. He then said,

"We can start by telling me what happened after I passed out."

Kiba then pet his partner, Akamaru before replying to the white haired Jounin's question.

"After you passed out, we brought you here to Tazuna's house so we can get everyone's wounds treated. We all got pretty beat up except for Sakura. Shino tried to locate them with his bugs but he couldn't get a trace on them. Those bastards must have killed the planted bug so we can't go after them. After we got you here, we all just rested and waited for you to wake up the next day."

Kakashi nodded at what he heard while Sakura felt some guilt in her heart for not being able to fight alongside her companions throughout the whole mission. As Tazuna entered the room, Kurenai then said,

"This mission will not be complete until that bridge is finished so we better help out in it's completion. I just strolled over there a while ago and there aren't many workers left in constructing the bridge. But aside from that, we have to be prepared for the battles up ahead. Zabuza may be down, but Gato isn't so you never know when we have to fight again."

Then genins pondered at the situation that had unraveled at their feet. They barely were able to fight the clones of Zabuza let alone the original. All they managed to do was wound the man. Hinata knew that Naruto could've easily defeated Zabuza if he wanted to, but it would seriously blow his cover had he done so making it harder for him when they return back to Konoha. Especially since Ichigo was still hot on the young blonde's trail.

Naruto then sighed as he said,

"Well there's only one thing we can do….Train so we can be strong enough to survive."

Sasuke nodded at that as did Kakashi as he said,

"Looks like we have some training to do."

Sakura was panicked at what she heard. Kiba too had the same thoughts as Sakura said,

"Wait! Even if we train, it's not going to be helpful at all since the enemy shinobi that you, Kakashi-sensei the **Sharingan** user and Kurenai-sensei the Genjutsu mistress, had a hard time with." _**'Kuso! Are you trying to kill us?!'**_

Kiba then added to her statement as he said,

"I'd love to train and beat the shit out of him. But there's no way we can have a chance to win. He took on the both of you with ease! How much more with us? He probably was toying with us the whole time if he wasn't holding the both of you prisoner. He might even be looking for us now after yesterday and brought a couple of his friends to make sure we die in our own shit."

Kurenai then berated the fowl mouthed boy as they listened to what Kakashi had to say.

"Relax Kiba. After regaining consciousness from the near death state, you can only regain fighting strength after a couple of weeks or so meaning we have plenty of time. And besides Sakura, who helped Kurenai and I when we had a difficult time? You six are growing at a rapid rate especially you Naruto. Had I known better, your fighting spirit and levelheaded mind during the entire mission are of an experienced Chuunin. If Kurenai and I aren't around, I can feel safe knowing you and Shino are leading the team."

Hinata smiled when she heard that her blonde protector was getting the praise he so rightfully deserved however, Sasuke wasn't all too happy as he thought,

'_Naruto was the dead last in the academy. How can he be this cunning? No matter. I'll get stronger and prove to everyone that I can defeat that mist nin and his friend. I will surpass him and get closer to HIS level.'_

Kurenai then said to her team,

"The same goes for you Hinata. You fought bravely without fear. I'm glad that you finally learned to take initiative when the situation calls for it. The same goes to you too Kiba. You supported Naruto and Sasuke well allowing Shino to get to the fake hunter-nin with ease. But we will have to train hard and work hard in order to accomplish this mission without anyone dying. This is a real life or death mission were how you fight will determine whether you or your comrades live or not so take this training we're going to give you seriously."

"It won't matter."

A young boy said from behind the group as he stood by the doorway. He wore a white short hat with two blue, horizontal stripes that ringed around it over his short brown hair. He also wore green suspenders over his rusty yellow shirt. The young boy then ran towards his grandfather, Tazuna the builder, as he gave him a big hug. His mother, the black haired woman, then scolded him for not greeting the team of shinobi that escorted his grandfather to safety. The young boy then looked at them and said in a monotone voice,

"Mom, they're going to die. There's no way a person can win by going against Gato."

His melanchony, irritated Kiba as the dog-boy stood up and approached the boy and shouted,

"What the hell did you say gaki?! You think we ain't a match for that scumbag and his mob of thugs?! I oughta—"

"That's enough Kiba. One more word and you're off this mission. You better learn how to control your temper or else."

Kurenai said to the dog-boy as Akamaru pulled on the end of his pants. Kiba bitterly swallowed his pride, as he sat back down in a corner. Inari then turned his back to them as he began to walk out of the room. He then said before leaving,

"If you want to live, you'd better go home. I'm going to watch the ocean."

Naruto couldn't keep his emotions in check either as some old memories refused to remain detached from the heart. As he marched over to Inari's room and stopped right at the door as he saw through the small opening of the half-opened door and heard the poor boy sob his heart out. Naruto remembered how painful it was for him at this time before he came and changed his life forever. As Naruto turned away to leave, he saw Hinata waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hina-hime? What's wrong?"

Naruto said as he walked down the stairs to meet her. Her eyes told him that she needed to see him about something of great importance. Without delay she then said,

"I'm still amazed at how calm you were the past two days. It was so hard to believe all this even after we've known each other for six years now. But after yesterday and all our days in training, I can readily accept it as the truth kitsune."

It was hard to believe from the very beginning and Naruto knew that. He had jumped the gun at the right time but he should have told her little by little in order for her to have no doubts in her mind unlike what had occurred the past weeks until this point. The young blonde then sheepishly replied,

"I guess I should have taken it slow when I told you the truth instead of telling you everything right off the bat. But anyway, I think we should head outside to do some training with Kurenai sensei. Don't worry about shocking them with you're ability to do tree walking already. But after doing the tree walking, lets train in water walking with reiatsu instead of chakra so we can master the art of reiatsu control."

Hinata nodded as Naruto took her by the hand and they walked into the forest where they were to train. Luckily for them, there was more than one way for the team to get out of Tazuna's house and into the forest so they were able to completely evade being seen by the rest of the group as they rendezvoused with the rest of the team in the forest. Kurenai saw the happy expression of Hinata and was glad she was able to get along with Naruto much better than before.

The entire joint team stood in that clearing as Kakashi, who was leaning on a crutch, then said,

"Alright. Let's begin the training."

"Cool! So do we lean how to do the jutsus you guys just used on Zabuza yesterday?"

Naruto exclaimed reminding his team of the nature of his persona allowing them to relax more knowing that Naruto hadn't completely changed. Kakashi and Kurenai sweatdropped as did the other man hiding in the shades when they heard what he just said. Kurenai then turned to her fellow Jounin and said,

"Is he always like this? "

"Isn't Kiba the same?"

Kakashi replied as he looked at the team with a sad thought as he missed reading his favorite book. But without further delay, he explained the training.

"Were going to be climbing trees….without using our hands."

"WHAT?!"

Kiba roared at the man.

"But is that even possible?"

Sakura said in confusion. Kakashi then walked up to the tree and formed a handseal and began walking up the tree until he was upside down on one of its branches astonishing the genins below. Kurenai then said,

"The object of this exercise is to maximize your Chakra control so you can gather the right amount of chakra in the right location. By simply performing jutsu, you use energy. However, without enough control, you tend to waste more energy than needed and are unable to effectively perform the jutsu or perform it again with the same intensity as the first one because you used up too much energy in performing it the first time giving you a disadvantage in a battle situation."

Seeing them nod in understanding Shino then spoke up,

"So this will help us control our energy so we can use our chakra wisely and effectively by pouring chakra to our feet to stick to the tree."

Kakashi then said as he walked back down to the ground,

"You catch on fast Shino. Technically, you distribute chakra under your feet, which is considered the hardest place to gather chakra even by expert shinobis, evenly so that you can stick to the tree. Remember, it has to be evenly distributed. Too little chakra, and you will not stick. Too much and you will be repelled from the tree. If you can master this, then you can learn any jutsu in theory."

When the jounin reached the grass, he then gave them each a kunai and said,

"Use this to mark where you are able to climb up to with your current ability. Then try to make a new mark above that mark."

The genins got ready as they picked up the kunai to begin their training. Kiba smirked as he said,

"This is gonna be a cinch. Akamaru and I are gonna get to the top first. You wanna bet Naruto?"

The young blonde however was too heavily concentrated on the task ahead as determination once again lit up in his flaming azure eyes. Kakashi and Kurenai saw the determination in their eyes as the white haired jounin said,

"Ready…hajime."

All of the genins began molding their chakra as the placed their hands in the ram seal while still clutching their kunais. Then, the genins except Naruto began running up the tree to give themselves a boost.

Kiba was the first one to fall as he made it pass three steps before landing on his back as he threw the kunai to the tree.

"Naturally, Kiba would be the first to fall since he's more of a taijutsu user with his family jutsus and most of them don't require that kind of control to execute properly."

Kakashi said as he saw the boy struggle to his feet.

Sasuke climbed up pretty high until he accidentally used too much and nicked the tree before landing back to the ground making him the second one to fall as a dent in the shape of a foot was seen just below the marking. Kurenai then said to Kakashi.

"Good thing we decided to give them the chakra control excercises. I was about to give them the exercise two days ago if it hadn't been for this mission. But it seems that Sasuke has a decent grasp of Chakra control if it wasn't for his larger reserves that he needs to control."

Kakashi then said,

"Well that's Sasuke. He's a genius so naturally he'd learn things easily. But even he needs practice and this should help him learn a bit of hard work."

Soon, Shino was the next to land back on solid ground as he managed to nick the tree before he fell. Kiba then angrily said,

"Kuso! How come Shino and Sasuke got that far and I didn't?"

Kakashi could only chuckle as he saw them and thought,

'_Looks like it'll be a long time before he can get things right. Naruto hasn't tried to climb yet. Most likely it's because he's still feeling for his chakra. Most of the techniques he's used so far are either academy level or jounin level meaning he has a hard time in the control department. But what about Sakura and Hinata?'_

They all looked at where Sakura was and saw her sitting on top of the first low branch of the tall tree she ran up to. Kakashi then said to Kurenai,

"It looks like Sakura seems to be the best in controlling her chakra. But with her low stamina and chakra reserves, she couldn't get any higher so she's stuck there at that branch. Now what about Hinata?"

Kurenai looked at the top of the tree and was amazed at what she saw. In fact, they all were as they saw her at the very top of the tree. Naruto then exclaimed,

"That's great Hinata-chan! You got there in one go!"

Kurenai then chuckled as she replied to Kakashi,

"You were saying?"

The one-eyed jounin then said to the two girls,

"Looks like you've mastered it already. How about you two come down and help guard Tazuna on the bridge today."

Both girls walked back down the same way they came as they handed the kunais back to Kakashi. Sakura then approached Sasuke and said,

"Did you see that Sasuke? I did it! I'm not as good as Hinata, but I got up the tree nonetheless."

Sasuke smirked causing Sakura to squeal in delight as Sasuke ignored her and began climbing once again. Hinata then approached Naruto and smiled as she said,

"I really did it Naruto-kun. But why haven't you tried to climb yet?" _'Maybe he's not using chakra to try to climb the tree. He must be using reiatsu instead so he can practice like he said he would.'_

Naruto then smiled back and said,

"Yup! You're awesome Hinata-chan! All the way to the top in one go! I really can't climb yet since I need to gather both of them to my feet and it can be tricky."

The lavander-eyed girl got the message. He wasn't just using chakra, but reiatsu and chakra together for this exercise. She saw him perform it once as he placed chakra in his right foot and reiatsu in his left and alternated between the two as he walked up the tree.

Naruto returned to his concentration until he managed to gather the right amount of chakra and reiatsu to his feet. Kakashi began to eye the blonde carefully as he placed his right foot first. Feeling that he got his foot to stick, the young blonde then placed his left foot up. When he had gotten his feet to stick he then alternated the flow of energy as chakra flowed in his left while reiatsu in the right as he took the next two steps. He continued this alternation until he got to the very top of the tree as he stood on its tip causing Sasuke and Kiba to burn with envy. Kakashi and Kurenai were awed by what they saw. Once again he proved to them that he is more than able to fight above genin level. Naruto then walked back down until he stood on the solid ground.

"You never cease to amaze me Naruto. You can go with Sakura and Hinata to watch over the bridge."

Kakashi said to the young blonde. Naruto shook his head and said,

"No thanks Kakashi-sensei. I want to stay here and help out everyone else so that we can all be able to perform it properly. What use is it if only one of us can go while the others have a hard time figuring it out by themselves?"

"I admire your wish to help your fellow shinobi, but they do need to learn on their own as well. If you want, you can continue training until you feel like you have completely mastered it."

Kakashi replied seeing the love and developing leadership of the young blonde. Kurenai then looked at Hinata and said,

"What about you Hinata? Are you going to help guard the bridge with Sakura?"

"I'd prefer to stay and train some more Kurenai-sensei. I want to see how far I can really go."

Kurenai nodded as she and Sakura went on their way to the bridge. Naruto kept training with Hinata, Kiba and Shino. After several hours of training, they returned back to Tazuna's house for dinner and sleep. They did this for several days until Kiba managed to get halfway up the tree and Shino to be able to climb close to the top with Sasuke just behind him.

The raven-haired boy pushed himself hard as he fought his way up to the tree in hopes of surpassing his peers. Kiba did everything he could and with a little help from Naruto and Hinata, he was able to climb to the top.

Naruto and Hinata however, trained in a different way than them as they focused on learning how to control chakra and reiatsu on the fly with the tree climbing exercise. It was hard at first for the lavander-eyed girl, but eventually she was able to master it while Naruto on the other hand was going for stamina control as he ran back and forth on the tree using the same alternating method until he could not run anymore because he was out of chakra and reiatsu.

To those who have never seen or knew about reiatsu, it would seem that he was performing the exercise normally with chakra as the sticking medium. But for the young blonde, it was a definite struggle as he had to learn how to apply chakra and reiatsu quickly and efficiently without using too little or too much making it complicated because of the alternating method he was performing.

After training till sunset, Naruto wiped the sweat off his face and said to Kiba and Sasuke,

"I'm done for the day. I'll be heading back now."

"Wait…"

Sasuke replied as he approached the young blonde. The raven-haired boy looked at the young blonde fiercely as he asked,

"How did you get up so quickly?"

Naruto then replied as he walked away,

"Instead of rushing upwards, take things one step at a time. Feel the pressure before trying to get it all at once. You won't get there faster by just running all the time."

Kiba then scratched his head as he gave Akamaru a small treat for the small dog to feast upon before the two tried once again.

As the young blonde entered the house, he saw Kurenai and Kakashi at the table with Tsunami, Inari's mother, looking through the cupboards.

"Where's Sakura-san and Hinata-chan and Shino?"

Naruto asked to which Kurenai replied,

"They're back at the bridge guarding it with Tazuna. How was your training with Sasuke and Kiba? It's been a few days now."

"They're alright. Kiba finally got it down right thanks to Hinata-chan's help. Sasuke didn't want my help so I decided to help Kiba more. Sasuke can be such an ass."

Naruto replied back as he crossed his arms. Tsunami closed the cupboards as she whined saying,

"We're out of food again. Can someone head off to the store and buy some groceries?"

Naruto stood up and took a nearby basket as he left in search for food. However, being the cunning kitsune he is, he **shunpo'd **to the forest and transformed into his three-tailed white kitsune form. He used his skills as a kitsune and made clones of himself as he scoured the entire forest for any animal that was edible.

Meanwhile, the door at Tazuna's house opened to reveal a tired and depressed old man and two exhausted girls enter the house and sit down on the table with a fatigued expression on their faces.

"Kami-sama….how much longer?"

Sakura whined as she buried her chin in her arms on the table. Hinata was just as tired until two more people came in through the door.

"Guess that means you're done."

Kakashi said to the two boys arm in arm as they sat at the table as well while Akamaru sat upon the floor next to Kiba.

"So what happened today at the bridge?"

Kiba asked Sakura. The pink haired girl exhaustedly replied,

"Not too good. Another worker decided to quit and Hinata, Shino and I ended up doing some work as well. I really wished Naruto could make a couple hundred** Kage Bunshins **so that it would progress faster."

Hinata then gazed at the pink haired girl and said,

"Naruto-kun could do that, but he was busy training so we have to do it ourselves. Besides, he already did that a day ago."

"So where is Naruto?"

Kiba asked as Shino finally entered and sat at the table as well. And just in time, the young blonde had arrived with a basketful of fish, a rabbit and some vegetables. They wondered how on earth Naruto was able to find such produce in a poor country like Wave.

"Where have you been and how did you get all that food?"

Sakura asked the young blonde as he placed them in the kitchen. Naruto then replied,

"There wasn't much food in the stores so I went to the nearby forest and river and foraged for some food."

They were amazed at how unpredictable the blonde's way of thinking was as he slaughtered the rabbit and gutted the fish as he drained them of their blood and inedible parts in a basin as he began cutting and cleaning their meat and the vegetables as he took to the kitchen with Tsunami as his helper. Kurenai then said to Kakashi,

"Let's hope his cooking is better than yours Kakashi. But has that boy ever cooked before?"

"The only thing I've seen him cook is instant ramen."

Sakura said, as they smelled the aroma of freshly cooked meat and vegetables coming from the kitchen. And after an hour and thirty minutes of cooking, the two chefs came in with a several plates of food that pleased the eye.

"Good thing they still had spices and rice in the cupboards. Everyone, dig in!"

They were awed at the spread before them. There was sukiyaki of rabbit meat, Bok Choy, Chinja Rosu, Sushi made from the fish that inhabited the river, and fried rice made from the remaining rice and vegetables.

The mouths of Kiba, Sakura, Akamaru and surprisingly, Sasuke began to water as they hungrily gazed upon the dishes served before them. Kurenai was amazed at the food that was served and even more the one who served it.

"I'm amazed at his knowledge of cooking. With just the food he foraged, he was able to make a full course meal that we've never been able to eat in our entire lives. So please…begin eating."

Tsunami said as she poured the soy sauce in a serving cup while the aroma filled the room. However, amidst the hungry wolves, Naruto was worried about what Hinata would think about the food. Would she love it or would she hate it?

The lavander-eyed girl was nervous as a faint blush formed on her face.

'_Naruto-kun cooked all this for us! I have to try it. But what if it tastes bad? How should I react? No, he made this especially for us. It doesn't matter if it tastes bad or not, as long as he made it, I wll try it. We can do this Hinata.'_

The lavander-eyed girl thought as her heart began to beat sporadically. She began with the Chinja Rosu as she placed some on her plate gaining several stares at her. She began to blush even further as she took her chopsticks and said,

"Itadakimasu."

And made the first bite as she took some of the stir fried vegetables of the Chinja Rosu and ate it. Naruto swallowed hard as a faint blush appeared on his face. Everyone knew how much she loved the young blonde but can she overlook whatever taste the food had and praise him for his efforts?

The Hyuga heiress' face brightened up as she smiled and said,

"Sugoi! It's really good!"

Hinata said as she happily ate the food while Naruto blushed as he grinned and said,

"I'm glad you liked it. Well who else wants to eat?"

The rest of the people at that table began to dig in and find that the food was exquisite. Kiba ate like a madman, as did Sasuke as they replenished their lost energy with Naruto and Tsunami's cooking. Eventually, the plates were stripped clean as the full bellies of the team and Tazuna's family and several happy faces filled the room. Hinata then asked the blonde,

"Where did you learn how to cook like this Naruto-kun?"

Naruto then sheepishly replied,

"I found a cookbook entitled, _Szechuan cooking: Kikkaro restaurant style_ once and decided to try out my hand at cooking so I can eat the same food as the ones I see in restaurants. It was hard at first but it was well worth it. I'm really glad you loved it." _'Actually, Okaa-san taught me how to cook back in Soul Society. I never could get any of her own creations down aside from the cookbook she had. But the best part in cooking is seeing the happy faces of your loved ones when they eat your cooking and after eating. I'm glad she loved it.'_

His tenant decided to comment as the Kyuubi said,

**I think you're constant cooking of food in that tree house of yours paid off. But what about the strawberry lurking about in the woods? You didn't give him any of your cooking? What a good friend you are.**

Naruto paid his tenant's cynical reply any heed as he gazed upon their happy faces. Hinata was even happier than the rest since she actually enjoyed his cooking making her burn with passion to learn how to cook food like this as well. Kakashi however, sighed knowing he was outdone by a twelve year-old genin. Kurenai on the other hand casually, but subtly glanced at the young blonde and the lavander-eyed girl's expressions as a faint blush appeared on their faces.

"This was really fun! It's been a while since we ate with this many people!"

Tazuna commented as he rubbed his belly to emphasize his point. As they took a minute to rest from all the food that they consumed, the lavander-eyed girl felt her mouth dry up in thirst. She then took a nearby glass filled with what seems like water and drank from it. Kakashi then noticed the glass she took and worriedly said,

"Hinata, that cup…"

"What's wrong Kakashi-sensei?"

Hinata replied the moment she finished the glass much to the one-eyed jounin's chagrin. Kakashi then sheepishly said,

"Naruto drank from that cup."

Everyone who was seated around that table was caught speechless as the Hyuuga heiress began to bloom in the color crimson. Naruto's eyes danced around the room as he said,

"What's wrong about drinking from the same cup?"

The young blonde was then caught in a headlock from Kiba's arms as the dog-boy said,

"Baka! Drinking from another person's cup is like indirect kissing!"

Kakashi began to giggle at the Hyuuga heiress' predicament as her blush refused to wear off as Kurenai had no idea how to deal with such a situation as Naruto, more confused as ever, said,

"How on earth is that kissing? "

Kiba then face faulted on the floor before getting back up and saying,

"It's called backwash Naruto. Some of your saliva is in the cup from drinking. And she drank from that cup by accident meaning she drank some of your saliva. Kuso! My head is aching from all the thinking you made me do. Now I'm paranoid of touching anyone's cup!"

Naruto still had a puzzled expression on his face making everyone else face fault and sweatdrop. As the blush on Hinata's face began to submerge, a blush on Sakura's face began to emerge as she gazed at the raven-haired boy. Sasuke then gazed back and said to her coldly,

"Don't even think about it."

Shino then decided to break up the humor and said,

"We should get some rest now so we can prepare for tomorrow. You never know when Zabuza will strike and we have to be ready."

Inari, who had just come into the dining room, had heard what Shino said and monotonously said,

"As if it'll matter. All of you will die anyway."

Naruto couldn't stand to see cowards in all his lifetime. To him, running away without trying wasn't a real option but a futile attempt at escape. Many times he saw his men from his division do so when the numbers of the enemy grew too large for them to handle during the war with Aizen and it cost many lives both human and shinigami. Naruto was clear and precise with his plans and orders however, his men weren't ready to perform such tasks under that pressure and casualties would pile up because of their weak willed hearts that he could once again see in Inari at this time.

The young blonde then walked out the door and ran into the woods to displace his frustration as the worried Kakashi ran out to follow him. Hinata then stood up and said to the melancholic boy,

"We are all trying our best Inari so you shouldn't say such things. What would your father have said if he heard you now?"

Tazuna and Tsunami's faces became downcast as Inari ran back into his room as he slammed the door behind him. Feeling that she had struck a nerve, Hinata was about to apologize until Tazuna raised his hand up to her and said,

"Please forgive my grandson. Tsunami, would you calm down Inari first?"

When the black haired mother left to attend to the sad boy, Tazuna began his tale of Inari's father and how he had saved the village once before Gato arrived and took his life away.

----------o)0(o----------

The young blonde finally stopped running as he made it into the clearing where he would meet Haku the next morning.

"This looks like a good spot. Better start now while I still have time."

Naruto said to himself as wind began to circulate around his hand before he sliced a small tree leaving a stump behind for him to work on top of as he made a one-handed seal and thirty **Kage Bunshins** went to work on carving a bokken for the twenty eight of them to use while the remaining two began carving the remaining wood from the tree into two wooden katanas complete with sheath and guard. As the clones went to work, Naruto's tenant then said,

**That act you just pulled back there was worthy of a kitsune. But we still have someone on our tail. One has just arrived and isn't making his move while the other is coming into sight range. Are you sure about training your zanjutsu here?**

Naruto then replied to his tenant,

"I'm positive about this. It's the only way to vent out my frustration without making an ass out of myself. If I want to vent out my emotions, training is the only way to do it. We still have to fight Zabuza and I need to be sharp. Shiranui-ryu is a physically engaging zanjutsu style and I can't allow myself to stay idle in order to be able to perform any techniques of the style when I need it the most."

The young blonde looked at the bokken and wooden katana he had carved out and inspected it before ordering his clones to stab their bokkens into the ground around him as he lay the three wooden katanas on the stump as he took his postion in the center of the clearing with his bokken pointing the ground as he stood erect and unemotional while his clones stood around him with agitated expressions on their faces.

Kakashi had finally arrived at the clearing as he landed near some bushes while he peered through the shrub and watched the blonde with care. Knowing his reaction a while ago, it wouldn't be the best time to approach. That was until Naruto then looked at the bush where Kakashi was hiding behind him and said,

"Kakashi-sensei. Why don't you come out of there and help me in my training. I need a Zanjutsu training partner so that I can sharpen my sword skills."

Since his cover was blown, Kakashi then stood up from his well concealed position and said,

"I'm not very good with a sword Naruto. Although I've had one once when I was in ANBU, but I don't think I'd be much of help. Why don't you try it out with your clones first until you've completely calmed down that hot head of yours."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement as he returned to his stance while Kakashi leaned on a nearby tree and watched the fight that would commence. His clones then picked up their bokkens as they encircled the blonde. Poised and ready, one of the clones behind him, charged with an overhead vertical attack. When the clone got in range to strike, Naruto quickly spun to the right as his sword struck the clone's neck cleanly before it disappeared into smoke. This marked the beginning of the battle.

Another clone without falter charged the young blonde at his open left side attempting to make a diagonal downward slice from right to lower left. Naruto saw this coming and moved closer to the clone before giving him a left elbow to the face causing the clone to disappear from existence as the original swung his right arm to follow the momentum just in time to give a diagonal downward slash to two clones behind the clone he gave an elbow strike to as the rest attacked him in unison. Naruto danced around their wooden blades as he parried and struck with quick succession leaving no room for counterattacks from all sides.

Kakashi was amazed by the skill Naruto was showing with his clones as the white haired jounin mentally said to himself,

'_I never knew he was a kenjutsu type of fighter. But with all the other surprises he's pulled so far, it's pretty clear that he has a lot of tricks up those sleeves of his and he doesn't want to show things all at once. With the passive ability of experience accumulation of the __**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**__ that he learned from the Forbidden Scroll, he's going to grow fast and his skills will reach a level of mastery that would normally take a lifetime to achieve in a few short weeks. I wonder what else he's been doing without my knowledge? And why did he say zanjutsu instead of kenjutsu? I haven't heard of that word except in history books or legends. I guess we won't really know until the Hokage and I interrogate him and that would hurt our relationship.'_

Naruto was quickly dispatching one clone after another as he hacked his way through with his bokken. He gracefully fought the clones without breaking a sweat as their bokkens dropped to the ground with each clone that was defeated. Naruto was able to vent out his frustration easily this way as he cut through each clone in his path. He didn't show his full zanjutsu prowess, but he did show that he was more capable with a sword than any other weapon making Kakashi think of how he can find a good sword for the blonde to use as Naruto dispatched the last of the twenty eight bokken wielding clones. The last two then took the wooden katanas from the stump as they tossed the third one to Naruto as the original young blonde dropped his bokken and grabbed the katana as he took of his white sleeveless jacket and used it as a make-shift sash around his waist for him to equip the wodden blade in his left side as he took a battou stance and shifted his hitai-ate to cover his eyes while his clones did the same making Kakashi's visible eye widen as he thought,

'_Battou stance? So he's going for an iaiken attack while his eyes are closed. I've heard it's difficult to master such techniques making it almost impossible to perform in battle situations but the benefits of this type of training are excellent for sharpening your mind, senses and reflexes. He sure is reckless. But it will be nice to see this fight.'_

The two remaining clones inched closer to the blonde in front of them as they never left their stance. When they got within fifteen feet of the original blonde, they charged until they got within range to slice the blonde in one fluid motion from unsheathing their wooden blades. As the wodden blades came close to the young blonde, Naruto then quickly attacked in the same way allowing him to guard the two sword strikes. However, the clones didn't notice the scabbard of the young blonde swat the head of the on of the clones as Naruto swat them with such an unexpected attack with his left hand in a reverse grip. While still in one fluid motion, he spun causing his sword wielding arm to smash the back of the clones neck before the wooden blade was sheathed back in the wooden scabbard as the smoke from the remaining two clones disappeared.

Kakashi clapped his hands in applause as Naruto lifted his hitai-ate and dropped the wodden katana while putting back on his jacket.

"That was an amazing display of skill. Where did you learn how to do that?"

Kakashi inquired of the young blonde. Naruto then grinned as he said,

"I trained in all sorts of weapons until I found out that holding a sword came naturally for me. You have no idea how many times I got scratches, bruises and cuts from trying to use other weapons aside from a kunai and shuriken."

Kakashi then replied,

"So I take it you did all that experimental training until you found your weapon of choice behind my back. What else have you been doing that we don't know of hmm?"

The one-eyed jounin asked as he tried to pry the information out of Naruto. The young blonde then nodded and replied,

"Well aside from that, I tried relearning the academy jutsus and train my body more in taijutsu since I barely know any ninjutsu aside from Kage Bunshin. By the way, can you find me a good zanjutsu teacher when we get back Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi then replied,

"I'm afraid not Naruto. From now on Naruto, we'll be training as a team so that we can better be familiar with our jutsus so that we can coordinate them much better and that includes not using **bunshins** to play as a stand in during those days. Otherwise it's no ramen for a month. I'm sure the Hokage would understand if it meant teambuilding."

Naruto began to chase Kakashi as he shouted,

"KUSO! YOU BASTARD! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT! JUST BECAUSE YOU LOST YOUR PERVERTED BOOK DOESN'T MEAN I HAVE TO SUFFER TOO!"

Kakashi ran for his life until Naruto got tired of the game of cat and mouse and walked back to the clearing as the white haired jounin left knowing he was all right. And just when one problem was solved, another came flying into the young blonde's face as he saw the one man he didn't need to see back at the clearing.

"You've got a lot of nice friends Naruto. No wonder you didn't head back Soul Society."

The orange haired man said as he turned around and faced Naruto with a smile on his face. Naruto grinned and said,

"Yare, yare. Looks like you've caught me Ichigo. How's everyone doing?"

Ichigo replied by sending a fist on Naruto's head and screamed,

"Baka! You left right in the middle of battle! How do you think everyone's doing? And what's with the gigai you're using right now? Everything's a mess so you better clean it up for all our sakes."

Naruto then rubbed the bump on his head and screamed back,

"Kuso! You didn't have to hit me! Sheesh. Fine I'll tell you everything just calm down."

The young blonde sighed as he retold his story to Ichigo from where they left off during the day of Aizen's last stand. When Ichigo finally understood he said,

"So if that's the case, why didn't you tell us in the first place?"

"I already told you, it would make things harder if I did and I wouldn't be able to fix my past properly if suddenly the entire Gotei thirteen showed up in Konoha or any other place for that matter. I'm on a Kami class mission for crying out loud! And one more thing, it seems you've been doing your share of interfering. How did you find me and what have you been doing lately?"

The irritated Naruto said. Ichigo then replied,

"When we found out that you've gone missing, we decided to split up and search for you. It became an official mission when the old man found out that at the same time of your disappearance, many souls that came from your world disappeared and returned to your world. Rukia and Inoue ran through Soul Society looking for you while Chad and Ishida returned back to Karakura Town to look for you there. I went to Urahara-san to see if he could open a portal to your world and here I am. Lately, I've been having the time of my life searching through deserts, gathering info on your whereabouts and slaying missing nins on the way."

"So you thought that if you couldn't find me, you'd make a way so that I'd find you by killing all those missing nins. How many have you killed?"

Naruto asked as he began burning up all the bokkens and wooden katanas with a simple fire jutsu. Ichigo then replied cynically.

"I killed a about twenty or so. They sure were as challenging as beating the crap out of Kon from time to time. Anyway, how long do I have to stay hidden? You should contact everyone else soon or else they'd really send an army out here."

The young blonde managed to burn the last bokken and faced Ichigo as he replied,

"Just until the Chuunin Exams. I know you're growing impatient, but we have to do things the right way or else everything will fall apart. So don't do anything rash unless needed to."

Ichigo sighed in defeat. What Naruto was saying was true. Soul Society would not rest upon this case lightly once they know that the elemental gods are reawakening. Sure, they knew to a certain extent that they would have to deal with sooner or later, but with the sudden twist of events, there was no choice in the matter since Kami himself sanctioned and requested the mission. Naruto then widened his stance as he concentrated chakra in one hand and reiatsu in the other. He then clasped his hands together as the two energies began to repel each other. The young blonde held fast knowing once he got through this stage, it would be a lot easier in the future. Eventually, the repulsion stopped until the chakra and reiatsu flowed together in harmony as he let go allowing the new energy to flow before changing into a red color as the energy shaped itself into a katana before the light faded revealing Naruto's zanpakuto in its sealed form. Ichigo then said,

"How did you do that? You brought out your zanpakuto in the real world with your body."

Naruto made his infamous foxy grin as he grasped the sword and gazed at the gleaming blade.

"It works by using your chakra and reiatsu to flow together. Normally, chakra flows outside while reiatsu flows inside because the soul is within the body. But when you reverse the process, the opposite becomes true. I don't really understand it too well since I just learned how to do it now, but in theory, you can bring out your shinigami form in your real body with enough chakra and reiatsu control. If you can manage to find the balance between the two energies, then any technique can be performed without the normal restrictions."

Ichigo scratched his head at first, but managed to understand it eventually. He then said to Naruto,

"Anyway, I need to contact Rukia and the others. Do you have your GPS?"

Naruto then did three one-handed handseals, and his black book appeared as it landed in his hands. He quickly opened to the passage and unlocked the seal on his GPS. He then handed the GPS to Ichigo. The orange haired man clad in a black hakama and kimono said thanks and **shunpo'd** out of sight.

The young blonde then returned to the clearing and lay down on the grass as he slept peacefully in that forest. Unknowingly to the young blonde, the forest dwellers that slinked in the night, began to approach the young blonde warily. But out of all the animals that approached, only a few actually approached close enough and slept with the young blonde as several curls of orange fur slept with the young blonde as they felt security in his presence.

As the young blonde slept in perfect harmony with the forest, his fellow genins had fallen asleep waiting for the young blonde with weapons drawn and traps set. However, only one did not sleep in that house as she ventured forth and saw the young blonde sleeping peacefully with several foxes surrounding him. She chuckled lightly as she lay to rest next to him with kunai still in hand.

For the sleeping young blonde, it was just another night till another fight. But to his fellow genins, it was their first experience on a real mission and a real battle. For the unprepared green shinobi, it was their first encounter.

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I am terribly sorry for the extremely late update. With Christmas coming soon, I got busy preparing for the occasion and finding presents for my family. It ain't easy to find good presents. I hope I did well on this chapter since I had more than a week to complete it. I just hope that I can update the next chapter much faster. Anyway, the next chapter will involve Haku's choice. Can you guess where I got the food recipes from and Naruto's zanjutsu style? Till then, Ja ne!


	18. Predator's Prey

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: I had a hard time deciding what to do with Haku and Zabuza in this chapter. But hopefully, my decision won't change the story drastically. Really am sorry about the very long update since I got sick during the first week of the New Year.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 18**

_**Predator's Prey**_

With the rising of the sun…

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Dawn once again shone its face upon the slumbering country of Wave as its gentle rays elegantly woke most of the island's residents both permanent and temporary from their slumber. One such temporary resident entered the forests in search for herbs for his wounded comrade.

Despite his feminine looks and long black hair, he was definitely male with the way he carried himself throughout the forest in his pink, sleevless yukata and black choker with a white sash tied in a ribbon at the back to hold his elegant yukata together. His steps were graceful yet firm as he knelt several times to pick the healthiest plants to use as medicine as he tossed them in the small basket he carried.

Without a care in the world, he happily picked plants as a bird perched on his left shoulder making the mood sunnier as he smiled gently at the feathered animal. The bird however, had more important things to do and left the boy to his work as the young bishounen managed to see over his shoulder where the bird had perched, the slumbering form of a young blonde with a Konoha hitai-ate on his forehead and a black sleeved shirt and pants that where bandaged at the ends with white bandages that also bound his black tabi boots and a white sleeveless jacket and black fingerless gloves on his hands. 

The young bishounen was surprised when he saw the young blonde fast asleep in these treacherous lands without a care in the world. But as he looked closer, he saw that the blonde wasn't sleeping alone as another carefree person had slept behind him. 

She had bluish black short hair, a light brown jacket with white fur at the ends of the sleeves and hood as well as the bottom, dark blue pants and shinobi sandals and the same hitai-ate around her neck as she slumbered peacefully by the young blonde as several balls of orange fur were found curled here and there around the young couple.

The black haired bishounen was curious at the sight that lay before him. If an artist were to see the scene, his blood would boil with joy at the potential portrait that lay on the grassy plain of that forest.

As he sharpened his gaze at the couple, he realized that the two were from the same shinobi team that was protecting Tazuna the Bridge Builder. His eyes widened in fear at what he just stumbled upon. 

There they lay, defenseless and separated from the main group. It was a golden opportunity to eliminate them once and for all. The young bishounen warily, but softly, marched towards the sleeping couple as he had his basket in one arm and senbons tucked neatly in his yukata for ready usage when he got within range. He took his time calculating his steps as he finally stood in front of them. Without further delay, he knelt down first to the sleeping blonde as he reached out his hand to strangle the young blonde's neck. But just before he was able to perform his deed, he hesitated and instead, shook the sleeping blonde to awaken.

While the slumbering blonde was being disturbed of his peaceful nap, elsewhere in the house of Tazuna, his comrades had just awoken and sat down around the table for an early breakfast as Sakura, the last one to awaken, walked sloppily towards the table. She rubbed the sand from her sleepy eyes and yawned as she noticed something amiss.

"Naruto and Hinata haven't come back yet." The pink haired girl said as she looked around the room until they heard the door creak as the lavender-eyed girl entered from the front door. Kurenai sighed in relief seeing her favorite student enter the room.

"Where have you been Hinata? And where's Naruto?" The crimson-eyed kunoichi asked of the lavender-eyed girl. 

Hinata then replied, "Naruto-kun is still training in the forest. He said to me to tell everyone so that they didn't have to worry."

Kakashi's visible eye became a u shape as he deviously said, "I see. So did you two have a fun time together last night? You sure picked a nice time to come home. I'd love to hear what you two have been up to all this time."

Hinata's face became beet red as she held her hands over her mouth when she realized the awkward predicament she was in causing her teammates and several others in that room to have their eyebrows raised. 

Hinata then nervously replied, "I-It's not like that Kakashi-sensei! I-I got worried last night when Naruto-kun didn't come back so I went out t-to look for him. W-When I found him, I was too sleepy to move and fell asleep."

Kurenai nodded in acknowledgement knowing that Hinata wasn't one to allow herself to be taken in so easily despite her passion for the young blonde. However, that wasn't the real case as the lavender-eyed girl remembered what the young blonde had told her earlier in the morning.

_Flashback_

_Dawn had approached as the young blonde woke up and scanned his surroundings. He was surprised to see his Hyuuga princess lying there next to him._

'_She stayed with me out here in the forest? I guess she was that worried for me. But she can't stay here the whole time when Haku comes around.' The young blonde thought as he woke the sleeping Hyuua heiress. _

_She opened her eyes and blinked a few times before his face came into focus. The lavender-eyed girl smiled as she sat back up and hugged the young blonde causing him to blush as he said, "Hina-hime, as much as I'd love to stay with you, you need to get back or else they will get suspicious."_

"_But how about you? You said it yourself that Haku would be here later to pick up medicine for Zabuza. What if he doesn't accept your proposal?" Hinata replied in worry. _

_The young blonde placed his hands upon her shoulders and smiled._

"_I understand why you're worried Hina-hime. But I know what I'm doing. One way or another, they will choose between joining us and fighting us. Hopefully they will join us and become Konoha shinobi. But if they decline, then we would end up fighting them just like before except with more numbers in the mix since your team got involved. Right now, he should be getting dressed to head out into the forest as we speak so you have to get out of here." Naruto said to his female companion._

_Hinata was a bit distressed at what Naruto said. She still needed to get used to constant danger in missions and the young blonde knew it. If there was any way for her to avoid all this, he would make sure it would happen. But she was a shinobi and he knew that she loved being one despite the danger it brought otherwise she wouldn't have joined the academy in the first place._

_The Hyuuga heiress and the young blonde stood up as she nodded in acknowledgement. Seeing her submissiveness, the young blonde then began to replay the plan to her once more._

"_Ok Hina-hime. I'll tell you the plan once more. Haku will come to this forest today and I'll try to convince him otherwise. But if he refuses, we will need to reinforce the bridge and set traps just in case they send in more men which they probably will knowing that they're at a disadvantage. The training we did will come in handy but it won't be enough to defeat them without raising suspicion of our abilities so we need to work together in a simulation of the bridge so we have the advantage of the elements on our side. Try to convince Kakashi and Kurenai-sensei to do so. If they get too suspicious then stop so that I can improvise." The young blonde said to her as he turned around and with a one-handed seal, made a clone that transformed itself into Hinata._

_Naruto smiled at the Hyuga heiress causing her to smile back as she saw that he wasn't worried in the slightest bit. Mustering all the courage she could, she walked back to Tazuna's place with borrowed bravery from the young blonde._

_End of Flashback_

The Hyuuga heiress was twiddling her fingers as she sat down beside Shino. The bug user could see that she had something on her mind and he had a feeling it involved Naruto as well.

"Is there something on your mind Hinata?" the bug user asked.

"W-well, actually, I was wondering…

Back at the forest, the young blonde had woken up to see the young bishounen that was Haku in a pink, sleeveless yukata with a smile on his face.

'_Sometimes I wonder if he really was meant to be a boy with that face of his. But with those good looks and a kind heart, he'll get a number of fangirls that'll overshadow Sasuke's record unless he sticks to unisex clothing.' _The young blonde thought to himself as he sat back up.

"Did you wake me up? By the way, what are you doing?" the young blonde asked the smiling bishounen.

"I'm picking herbs to cure injuries and illnesses." The young bishounen said trying to keep his cool.

"But doing a tedious job so early in the morning?" the young blonde questioned him.

"What are you doing here so early in the morning with your girlfriend?" Haku said trying to avert the subject so as not to be caught.

Naruto blushed at the mention of the word girlfriend as he saw his disguised clone fast asleep while the several balls of orange fur began to uncurl revealing them to be young fox kittlings that ran up to the young blonde and sat around him with their tails wagging in delight. 

The young blonde then pumped up his fist and said, "We're training to fight this huge guy named Zabuza who nearly killed us the other week ago!"

Haku was mentally taken aback by his words but he knew all too well that this young blonde was one of those shinobi who fought Zabuza that week ago. 

Still trying to keep the element of surprise, the young bishounen then replied, "What are you a ninja or something? That hitai-ate is…"

"Do I look like one? Do I look like one? Yes, I'm a shinobi!" the young blonde said as he smiled in delight.

"Wow, you're amazing." The young bishounen said as the young blonde scratched his head in reply.

Haku then had a downcast look in his eyes as he averted his gaze from the young blonde. Naruto knew at this point where this conversation was heading as the young bishounen then asked him, "But why are you pushing so hard? There is no need to go so far. Is there someone worth risking for all of this?"

The young blonde nodded as his eyes showed deep maturity.

"I have a lot of precious people to protect so yes, there is someone worth risking for all of this just like you have Zabuza who you're risking to protect as well."

The young bishounen was shocked by what he heard. He snappily took to his feet and blurred past the blonde as he had a senbon pointed at the heart of the sleeping 'Hinata' behind the young blonde with his eyes having a cold and piercing stare. Naruto made a weak smile as he dispersed his clone shaking Haku from his wits as the young blonde said, "It's ok, I'm not here to fight. I'm actually here to talk if you'll listen."

The young bishounen gazed at him warily as he kept his senbon ready to strike while he nodded reluctantly.

Haku then asked the young blonde sharply, "How did you know and for how long? And how did you know where I will be?"

"That hunter-nin has the same smell as you and the fact that you quickly reacted and showed me shinobi-like reflexes and are holding the same weapon as the hunter-nin. And to answer your other question, I've been around Wave long enough to know where the best herbs are growing just in case you'd show up to treat Zabuza's wounds." The young blonde said never leaving his gaze from the young bishounen.

Haku lowered his weapon slightly but kept his distance as he sat down on the grass in a more casual position. 

Expecting the worst, Haku then asked again as he said, "What was so important to talk to me about that you willingly risked your life for?"

Naruto then crossed his arms as he then gave Haku his serious proposal.

"Please listen to me. Gato is not worth the money he's paying you. You and Zabuza must have had a hard life living like outcasts where you have to live off trash like Gato. Won't it better to quit this life of constantly running away and give your lives to a better purpose?" the young blonde calmly stated.

Haku shook his head as he replied, "I don't understand what you're trying to get at. I'm sorry but if Zabuza wishes for this life then I must obey him as his tool."

Naruto then took the young bishounen by the wrist as he coldly said, "I can't accept that answer. Everyone has the right to think and choose. You don't have to follow him around like a stray mutt and live a life you obviously don't want. I can see it in your eyes that you're tired of this way of living. Tell me…why do you persist on lowering yourself like this?"

His words struck hard and deep as the young bishounen sulked his head in defeat as he replied, "Because a monster like me has no place in this world."

The young blonde released his grip as he listened to Haku's story.

"I was born with a power that was so terrible that my clan was wiped out for except my mother. She kept it a secret even from my father until he found out and in fear attacked my mother and I. I accidentally awakened my powers that day and ended up killing my father and the mob that gathered with him. In fear, I ran and have lived like an outcast until Zabuza found me and took care of me since then. I knew he wasn't a good man, but he took care of me and in a way, we were both one and the same…monsters." The young bishounen explained with melanchony in his voice.

Naruto felt hurt having to hear this again. But being in the same position as Haku, he knew better and understood more pain than Haku could ever imagine.

The young blonde then closed his eyes as he placed his hands on his lap and said, "Monster my ass. If you were really a monster then you would've killed all of us without a moments notice. The fact that you can think otherwise says that you're not a monster. Why don't you drop this mission so that the people of Wave can be free from Gato's grasps and come with us back at Konoha where you can have a new leaf in life not as the monster that people believe you to be. It won't be easy, but it will be better. That's all I wanted to really say to you."

A brand new life, a clean slate is what the young blonde offered to the young bishounen. Haku was perplexed with this boy who just offered his enemy a hand instead of a kunai like he should have. Even though he wanted so much to have a brand new life where his past cannot affect his future, he still felt guilty of leaving Zabuza.

The young bishounen was nervous and nerve-racked by what he just heard. He was torn in two as one side of him wanted to cling on to hope of vindication and mortification while the other wanted to receive retribution. But eventually, Haku shook his head in defeat as he replied, "I really want to drop this mission and join you. But Zabuza will get hurt if I do so and I cannot allow my precious person to get hurt despite who he is. Please understand."

Naruto nodded seeing the nobility and purity of heart of the young bishounen. He knew from the beginning that it wouldn't be easy but he was somehow glad seeing the real love that Haku had for his precious person despite the evil man he was. 

As the young bishounen got up and took his basket in hand, the young blonde then stood up and said, "By the way, I'm Naruto. Namikaze Naruto. My offer still stands so please think about it."

The young bishounen stopped for a while and turned around as he gave a genuine smile and said, "My name is Haku. It was pleasant to meet you Naruto even if it will only be a short while. I will think about your offer. But when we meet it might be our last so please put your precious people's lives above your enemy's."

With that, the young bishounen turned on his heel and walked away. The young blonde closed his eyes as he mentally told his tenant, _'You know…we could've been the best of friends if the situation was different. By the way, when I was talking to him, I could hear howls in his heart as he spoke. It was beautiful but sad. Maybe I'm just thinking too much.'_

Kyuubi, being the perceptive person he was, then replied to his master, 

**The howling you heard was the cry of his heart. As you become more attune with your spiritual elemental affinity, you become aware of the affinity of others. You heard his howling because his heart was caged and wanted to break out of the cycle he was in.**

As the fox kittlings gathered around the young blonde, another unwelcome guest entered through forest as the daylight of the morning sun highlighted his features and contrasted his raven black hair and depressed and moody eyes as Sasuke entered the scene. When he saw the smiling blonde happily cuddling and playing with the fox kittlings, his mood became even more depressed as the wide smile of the blonde tugged many emotions and images from his cold heart.

'_Why? Why does he always get to laugh like an idiot and smile like there's no tomorrow. Doesn't he know that we're on a mission? How come he can be so calm and easygoing despite everything and achieve things as if they were nothing? What does he have that I don't?'_

When the raven haired boy was right in front of Naruto, the young blonde then looked at him and said, "Sasuke! What are you doing here?"

The raven haired boy then knocked some sense into him as his fist dove into the head of the young blonde. Naruto held his aching head and said, "What was that for?!"

The raven haired boy then crossed his arms and said, "Did you forget about breakfast time baka?"

The young blonde was pissed but tried hard to keep his cool as he said, "Alright, I'll head back. But I take it that that's not the only reason you came out here right?"

The raven haired boy nodded as he helped the young blonde to his feet and said, "Kakashi-sensei said that after breakfast we're going to simulate a battle on the bridge so eat fast."

The young blonde smiled knowing his plan had worked. As they walked further along, the young blonde turned around and noticed that one of the fox kits decided to tag along.

Sasuke, who wasn't one to be easily amused, said, "We don't have time for this Naruto. Let's move."

The young blonde ignored his hot-headed companion as he took the young fox kit and placed him in his downed hood where he could safely ride as they continued on their journey back.

Meanwhile, in Tazuna's home, the eager joint-team of team seven and eight waited until they heard the door creak signaling that the two have returned.

Naturally, Kiba, the first one to be irritated, said, "What the hell did you do last night? I bet you probably trained to death and couldn't wake up in the morning. Do you have anything in that thick skull of yours? What if Zabuza came and sliced you to shreds or something then what?"

Naruto made his foxy grin as he scratched his head until the energetic fox kit leaped from the young blonde's hood and on Naruto's head as he yipped and wagged his orange tail.

"KAWAIIIIII!!" exclaimed both Sakura and Hinata as they quickly took a hold of the young fox kit and cuddled it in delight.

Kurenai and Kakashi both sweatdropped in nervousness as the crimson-eyed kunoichi then asked Naruto, "Ano…Naruto…that….animal is…"

"Oh, Yeah! He followed me home so I decided to keep him." Naruto said as he took a sliver of meat from the table and fed the young kit making it purr in delight causing the two other kunoichis to cuddle the young kitsune in delight while Kiba tried to hold Akamaru down as the young pup made a low growl at the young fox kit.

Shino then looked over to Sasuke looking for an explanation causing the raven haired boy to place his hands in his pocket as he said, "I found the baka practically surrounded by at least six or seven of them in the forest. He's a magnet for kitsunes "

Kakashi was even more distressed by what he heard from his student concerning Naruto. Shino, ever observant, took note of Kakashi's sudden change in expression as he sharpened his gaze at the young blonde. 

Kurenai, of course knew that Shino would easily become suspicious and said to the young blonde, "Anyhow, you can't keep him Naruto. He's an animal of the wild and must remain here in these forests." _'Not to mention the number of angry villagers who would await on us with pitchforks and clubs the moment they see the kitsune.'_

Naruto frowned as his newfound friend shot a puppy eyed stare at the crimson eyed jounin making both Hinata and Sakura do the same. 

Kurenai had veins throbbing on her head as she said, "My word is final. No wild pets. Honestly, you just can't pick up any stray animal you see on the road as a pet."

The young fox kit then began whimpering as its ears folded down while it held its two paws together in a praying fashion while Naruto and Kakashi were doing the same as they imitated the kitsune.

Annoyed beyond grief, Kurenai let out a sigh as Naruto, Hinata, Sakura and the young fox kit perked up in joy while Kakashi then placed an understanding arm around Kurenai's shoulder as he said, "Now, now, even Naruto should have the right to having a friend. Kiba has Akamaru and he's doing fine."

Just as Kakashi said that, Akamaru leaped out of Kiba's control and chased the fox kit around the room until the fox kit made a backflip during the chase causing Akamaru to ram his head onto one of the table legs causing a fork with some meat on it to fall as the young fox kit caught it with his tail and ate the sliver of meat. When he finished his meal, he then pushed the mechanical trashcan near the wall so that the stepping platform was facing the wall. It then placed the fork on top of the lid and pounced on the platform sending the fork flying back and effectively landing back on top of the table.

The onlookers clapped their hands in praise of the young fox kit as it made a gentleman's bow before scurrying back up onto Naruto's hood as Kiba rubbed the bump on Akamaru's head. 

Shino then approached Kiba and stoically said, "It looks like Naruto's friend is one step ahead of your hound Kiba." _'But why did Akamaru chase the fox? Come to think of it, he's been rather moody around Naruto.'_

Soon, the entire joint team took to the bridge and began the simulation. They had no idea what would be coming for them but they knew that being prepared is much better than having your head lopped off and served on a platter for Gato to see. After the simulation, Naruto stayed behind on the bridge to help in its completion as him and his clones helped the bridge builder and his crew with the last few planks of wood for the night before he took off to Tazuna's house.

As soon as everyone had gathered in that room, Kakashi then spoke up as he said, "Now that we've done a simulation of a battle on the bridge, we should be at the very least have an idea on how we would fight them should a fight commence."

The rest of the team nodded as Sasuke then said, "We barely have any info concerning Zabuza's partner and his abilities but we do know that he's just as dangerous and the likely chances of us defeating him one-on-one are slim to none so we should stick together as a team."

By the time Sasuke had finished his sentence, Naruto had also finished drinking his tea as his fox kit took the empty cup and brought it to the sink to be washed.

The young blonde said with all seriousness, "We can't just focus on those two only. With so many of us on this mission, Zabuza would probably bring some other nins with him so he can even the odds a bit more. Plus the fact that the bridge isn't the only place he can ambush us in."

The rest of the team nodded as they realized that either way, things were to get ugly. Luckily for the young blonde, Ichigo was nearby so just in case there were any mess-ups, he could help out without problems. 

As they finished their meals for the night, Tazuna then spoke up as his face brightened up with the news he was going to bear upon their shoulders.

The old bridge builder then said, "The bridge is almost complete. It's thanks to all of you. But I'm still shaken up by the fact you guys are still here even though I lied about the request details."

Kakashi then made a serious face as he replied, "Not doing right when you know it's right is a coward's way. There are no weak soldiers under a valiant commander."

Tazuna and Tsunami were surprised by what they heard as were the rest of the joint team except Naruto who inwardly smirked when he remembered very clearly those words both from his father as well as Kakashi during this day.

Kurenai knew very well these quotes as she then replied, "Those were the teachings of the previous Hokage. The fourth always emphasized them before every battle during the Third Shinobi World War. Until this day that motto remains for all Konoha shinobi to follow. Some of which are already living out this motto unknowingly."

Inari, who had been silent and downcast throughout the few weeks then looked at the exhausted blonde who had fallen asleep on the table. As the melancholic boy looked at the young blonde, he remembered his previous father and the valiant heroism that he portrayed during his life with him before Gato mercilessly abused and made a mockery of him before his untimely death before poor little Inari's untainted eyes.

The melancholic boy's eyes began to drip with tears as he said, "Why….Why are you trying so hard that you end up like that! You can't beat Gato's men even if you train!"

Shino then looked at the crying boy causing everyone in the room to unknowingly pay attention as the bug user said, "Inari, we fight because we believe we can. We won't just stand around doing nothing and allow these people to die needlessly. We believe your cause is worth fighting for that's why we took up this mission."

Inari paid him no heed as they listened intently to the crying boy's words as he said, "No matter how hard you try and say those good-looking words…weak people are going to lose against strong people!"

Naruto woke up to those harsh words as he frowned and cleaned his ear with his pinky as he replied, "Shut up! I'm different from you."

Outraged by the sudden reply of Naruto, Inari then stood up and barked at the blonde, "Shut up! It pisses me off when I watch you! You don't know anything about this country, and you're so nosy! I'm different from you, someone who doesn't know any real pain and just laughs all the time!"

Naruto's face darkened in seriousness as he heard those words skewer his heart. Hinata and Kakashi were dismayed when they heard those words since they both knew what Naruto really went through in life and the hell he's been through.

'_Oh No! Inari shouldn't have said that. Naruto, please don't hurt him.' _The Hyuuga heiress thought as Naruto approached Inari and gave him a sharp slap to the cheek as Naruto's eyes burned brightly. 

The onlookers were to scared to move or say anything as the young blonde then coldly said, "Watch what you say gaki. Don't assume that I'm no different. I ate trash from the garbage can for breakfast when I was four because for some reason, most people despised me. In fact, the only other time I was given food during that age, I found out that there was a hint of gunpowder mixed in it and I couldn't go to the hospital to get cured because the nurses would beat me with the chairs there until I ran out. I couldn't get money or a house on my head until I was six so I was homeless for most of the time meaning I got mugged, beaten up and my all time favorite, used as a pin cushion for knives by the street thugs that lived near the alleyways. My only home at that time was a trashcan in the corner near the back of the brothel in the red light district in Konoha next to the theater. It wasn't pleasant since the stench of alcohol and another obscene stench that I'm not allowed to say to your tiny ears, was constantly fuming the place…"

Horror filled the hearts of the entire team. Kurenai couldn't take anymore as she placed her hands on her mouth.

'_Naruto…you faced so much hardship that it makes me look like a fool.'_ The raven haired boy thought as he remembered the night he first met the young blonde in that hospital.

Kiba and Shino were at a loss for words at what they heard as Sakura began to remember all the times she picked on Naruto whenever he annoyed her and felt guilt burden her conscience at the sudden realization of what he went through as her eyes watered. Kakashi began to burn inwardly with anger and frustration at this newfound knowledge.

However, of all who were heavily touched by his words, only one was dying inside as the lavender-eyed girl could no longer hold it in as tears began to form on her eyes as she slowly crept closer to the young blonde.

Naruto then grabbed the melancholic boy by the collar and continued his story as he said,

"I lived in misery at that time in my life all because I didn't do something about my situation and here you are, acting like the main character of a tragedy. An idiot like you can keep on crying like I did before. But you know what, I did something about my life and that's why I'm here today with this hitai-ate on my head. It wasn't easy, but it was a whole lot better than living in a rut for the rest of my life."

The young blonde put down the crying boy as he walked out of the room with his fox kit following suit and Hinata chasing after him. 

Inari cried even more as he slumped to the floor before running up to the roof. Kakashi was the only one to regain his resolve as he said, "I'll go comfort Inari."

"But what about Naruto, sensei? I think he needs more comfort." Sakura said as her eyes began to water. 

The one-eyed jounin then replied, "Don't worry about Naruto. Hinata is with him so it will be all right. What better comfort to be in than the arms of the one who loves you the most. That was something I read from my book before Kurenai forced me to burn it."

Kiba, who couldn't keep his resolve together for much longer, then said, "Kakashi-sensei….is everything that Naruto said true? I can't imagine that being real. How could anyone live through all that?"

Kurenai frowned even further in her depressed state as she replied, "Who said he did? The fact he's here and alive is a miracle in itself. I really don't understand all of this myself…but those eyes….they were filled with so much sadness and pain…"

They were at the peak of depression as they heard Kurenai's downtrodden reply as Kakashi left to look after Inari's injured heart. While the mood hadn't lifted from that room, another scarred heart was out by the nearby sea as he peered his flaming azure eyes into the vast ocean while his three white tails curled around his body while his orange furred friend sat beside him as he looked over the horizon.

"You think I was too hard on the gaki? Then again I did reveal a part of my life story to him." The white maned kitsune said as he placed his paw in the water. It was cold, but somehow, it relaxed him. 

His furry friend then looked at him and to the white maned kitsune's astonishment, replied as it said, "I think the baka deserved it. He whines too much for his own good."

The white maned kitsune leaped out of the water as his eyes became saucers until he slapped himself with his paw as he said, "Of course, I'm a kitsune now sheesh. So what's your name buddy? I'm sure you have a name."

The orange furred kitsune then replied, "Kohaku. Nice to meet you Kyuubi-sama."

The white maned kitsune face faulted into the sand as Hinata finally arrived on the scene. She kneeled down and gazed into the flaming azure eyes of the white maned kitsune as hers bore a worried expression on them. 

He gazed deeply into hers and said with a smile, "I'm alright now Hina-hime. I just needed to blow off some steam."

The lavender-eyed Hyuuga heiress then hugged the white kitsune tightly as she cried upon him. Her tears dampened his fur as he allowed himself to feel her warmth and the love and care she had for him.

As the lavender-eyed girl sobbed, she said to him softly, "I never knew how painful of a life you lived. If only I could have been there for you…no, I should have been there for you kitsune."

"It's all right now Hina-hime. I knew that you'd say something like that. But these things happen regardless and it isn't in our control. All we can do is choose the right path or the wrong one." The white maned kitsune replied as he reverted back to human form in her arms.

"But I still wished I was there so we can share the pain together, hand in hand." Hinata replied to the young blonde.

Naruto then hugged her back as he caressed the back of her head and ran his hands through her short, bluish black hair before wiping away the tears from her eyes as he gazed into those deep lavender orbs of hers.

"They're like shining pearl orbs. They're very beautiful." They young blonde said as his flaming azure eyes gazed into them causing Hinata to blush into a shade of crimson as she turned her head away in embarrassment.

"Please don't say that. It's embarrassing." The Hyuuga heiress said as she flustered.

The young blonde just smiled as his furry companion yipped in delight while wagging its tail.

Naruto and Hinata both looked at the young fox kit as the young blonde introduced them.

"Hinata, this is Kohaku. I found out his name when I was in kitsune form. Kohaku, this is Hinata, my girlfriend. Don't tell anyone." The young blonde said as the young fox kit bowed in respect while Hinata blushed from the apparent awkwardness of their situation.

As her thoughts returned to awareness of the situation at hand, Hinata asked the young blonde, "So what happened with your conversation with Haku? Did he take it well?"

Naruto then shook his head as did Kohaku as the young blonde said, "He said he'll think about it. But most likely we'll have to stick to the bridge battle."

Hinata bowed her head in defeat at what she heard from the young blonde. She knew that Haku wouldn't give in easily after she heard of his story from the young blonde. They both sighed in defeat since they knew that one way or another, they would end up fighting Haku and Zabuza and death was inevitable.

Naruto then brought Hinata closer to him as he wrapped his arms around her and said, "It's alright Hina-hime. I'll do my best to protect all of my precious people because they are my number one priority…especially when they're shy and sweet girls like you."

Hinata felt his love for her as she took refuge in his loving arms. They huddled closer to each other as the moon shone upon them reflecting its light of hope as the loving couple bathed in the moonlight while the silence caressed and soothed their souls as they gently kissed while laying down upon the shoreline.

Sand began entering some of the nooks and crannies of their clothing as they lay down upon the soft sand with Hinata in his arms as she leaned her head upon his strong frame. The blonde's flaming azure eyes gazed upon the pale beauty of the moon until an orange-headed figure prevented him from viewing it.

"Oi, how long are you guys going to stay there?" Ichigo said, surprising the two as they stood on their feet to meet the shinigami substitute. The young couple began to blush as they looked away from each other.

The strawberry named shinigami then smiled as he then said, "Sorry for interrupting your time together but your mom is on the phone and she's pretty pissed."

Ichigo then took out the GPS from his right sleeve as he handed it to Naruto. The young blonde then placed the pink phone to his ear and fell backwards as several screaming noises ran through that ear causing both Ichigo, Hinata and Kohaku to sweatdrop.

"BAKA! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN AND WHY HAVEN'T YOU CALLED US!" Kushina shouted from the phone. 

Naruto began cleaning the ear that was shouted on as he placed the phone near the other ear as he replied, "Okaa-san! You don't have to yell. Besides, Ichigo probably told you already so don't worry so much. Anyhow, what's been going on there? How's otou-san doing?"

As the young blonde chatted away, Ichigo looked over to Hinata and said, "Family reunions can be tiring so it might take a while. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo by the way. Nice to meet you."

The Hyuga heiress then looked towards the young man and bowed in respect as she replied, "I'm Hyuga Hinata. I'm very pleased to meet you." _'So this is Ichigo that I've heard so much about. He's a lot stronger than he looks.'_

Eventually, the argument between Naruto and his family settled down as he turned off the GPS and approached the two.

"I guess you guys are already acquainted. Anyway, what did Rukia say Ichigo?" Naruto said as he asked the orange haired youth and handed the GPS to him.

Ichigo then replied, "After I called up Rukia, they said that they're headed over here and the Gotei thirteen are investigating the problem of the elemental gods. According to your dad, it seems that their location is well hidden even from the monitors of Soul Society so they need to look for it themselves."

Naruto slapped his forehead in bitter realization of another careless mistake on his part.

"Who's heading here?" Naruto asked as he sulked.

"Rukia, Renji, Ishida, Chad, Inoue, Yoruichi-san and Urahara-san." Ichigo said causing Naruto to frown in bitter defeat.

As inescapable and inevitable as it was, the young blonde could only accept his loss and move on forward as planned. He fought hard to get here and he wasn't going to let up at any point yet.

"They just had to come. I barely managed to keep okaa-san from coming here but them? Great. But then again, you guys are too stubborn for your own good." Naruto said with a foxy grin on his face.

"What are nakama for?" Ichigo replied as he rubbed his fist on Naruto's head.

Hinata smiled as she saw the deep bonds that Naruto had with Ichigo. Although he had gone through so much toil in his life, he also received even more blessings because he was always surrounded by friends who loved him and cherished him for who he is. 

The young blonde then began strolling back with his hands in his pocket with Hinata following him. 

As they were leaving, Ichigo then said to him, "Naruto…take care. I hope your plan works. It would be much better to just go over to Gato right now and take care of things, but I'll trust you this time so you better do good."

Naruto turned his head around and smiled at Ichigo before they finally departed back to Tazuna's house.

Ichigo on the other hand had his work cut out for him. He then opened up the receiver of the GPS and dialed away the phone number to the Urahara Shop.

"Hopefully this thing doesn't charge me a lot for making inter-dimensional collect calls." The orange haired youth said as he placed the phone to his ear while it rang indicating that the device was making the call.

Back in the Urahara shop, a man in green hakama with a black haori over it and a green and white striped hat over his short, wild blonde hair was lazily reading a newspaper in one corner of the candy shop. Normally, it was a legit candy shop that sold sweets but underneath that cover, it was a shop that sold commodities to shinigami including contraband ones and this lazy blonde was its shop owner.

While he was busy doing nothing and squandering his time, the shop phone rang ending the silence that normally blended the background of this lazy day.

"I'll get it!" a muscular man said as he entered the shop from the back room in a blue apron, green pants, brown shoes, and a white muscle fit shirt. As he took the receiver of the phone close to his ear, the sun began to shine much clearer past the open door of the shop as it shone on the face of the muscular man as it revealed that he had brown cornrosed hair, a connected beard and mustache and rectangular framed glasses.

"Moshi moshi. This is the Urahara Shop. How may I help you today?" The muscular man said over the phone.

"Oh! Ichigo! How have you been? You haven't called for a while now. Oh, I see." The muscular man said as turned to face the wild haired blonde and said, "It's for you Urahara-san."

The wild haired blonde then took the receiver as he pressed it between his ear and shoulder as he continued reading his newspaper.

"Kurosaki-san! How have you been? The last time you called was yesterday morning. Missed me already?" Urahara said trying to sound as upbeat as possible, which irritated Ichigo to no end.

The orange haired youth then replied, "I called to find out what's been happening on your end. How's my family?"

"They're doing well. How's Naruto? Soul Society has been in an uproar ever since they heard the news of the elemental gods being revived. Shuhei's been looking for the little fox ever since he disappeared from the rabbit hole. Is our fox alright?" Urahara asked of Ichigo.

The orange haired man sighed as he looked over the horizon and said, "He's been messing up lately. Sereitei's number one military tactician, who normally is the most levelheaded on the battlefield, is extremely tense right now. He needs our help badly even if he hates it."

Urahara sighed as he replied, "Yare, yare, yare. But the gate won't open for another few days. You think you can hold up before then?"

"Hopefully I can. But I don't know about Naruto." Ichigo replied before the phone line suddenly was cut.

"Battery finally ran out." Ichigo said as he kept the now spent device inside his shihakusho. 

As the orange haired man shunpo'd out of sight, the young blonde, Kohaku and Hinata had just entered Tazuna's house to see that it was already dark and they had retired for the night. They decided to do the same as they bid each other goodnight.

Soon, morning came as the night withered away leaving only the young blonde to sleep peacefully as Kakashi said to Tsunami, "Please take care of Naruto. He's been using his body to the max so I think he won't be able to move for today."

"Kakashi-san, is your body feeling well today?" Tsunami asked of the one-eyed jounin as Shino left the house to join the group.

"Yes, somehow…" Kakashi replied.

Kurenai sighed as she said, "Hopefully, he'll be in enough shape to make sure that Tazuna is kept out of harms way."

Kakashi scratched his head in defeat. Hinata however was a bit worried concerning Naruto. But she knew how strong he really could be and that this was all part of his plan.

As the genins checked their stuff one last time before departure, Kurenai looked one last time at the house before they finally departed and headed for the bridge as they gathered around Tazuna. With every step they made, anxiousness filled their battle ready hearts as they felt an ominous wind blow past them.

'_Something tells me that we're going to face a powerful enemy up ahead. I don't like this at all.' _Sasuke thought as he gripped his hands into a fist to relieve himself from the tension he was going through that seemed to infect his other teammates.

They trugged onwards to the bridge until a few feet away, they could see a heavy mist fog the area as it eerily seemed to sap the life out of the team as they rushed into the fog.

"What is this?" Tazuna screamed as he saw the many injured construction workers lying around the bridge.

The team began to take their precautions as planned. Shino took to the back with Sasuke as Sakura and Hinata protected Tazuna's front and back while Kiba and Akamaru ran to the injured men along with Kurenai and Kakashi.

The crimson-eyed jounin checked their pulses and nodded causing the team to sigh in relief until they saw their former enemy across them with the fake hunter-nin and four more missing nins.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Kakashi and Kurenai. But to be fair, I brought some friends of mine along with me." Zabuza said as he moved his right arm to check its flexibility before gazing back his murderous eyes at the tense joint team that took on the defensive.

Zabuza smiled as he said, "He's shaking again. How pitiful. In fact, they're all shaking."

Zabuza was right. The genins were still shaking in nervousness as they never faced a battle this intense in their entire life as the air just choked their confidence and wits despite how hard they struggled to fight it from engulfing them in their own fears.

Sasuke on the other hand was shaking for a different reason. He smiled smugly as he said, "I'm shaking in excitement."

"I see. But where's the other one? There's only five of your kids. Or are you keeping him somewhere around her to make a sneak attack?" Zabuza said cynically as six **Mizu Bunshins **surrounded the team until Sasuke quickly dispatched them of. His swift attacks caused them to revert back into water. 

"Cheh. Show off." Kiba said as Akamaru barked in agreement.

"A rival has appeared for you Haku." Zabuza said to his younger companion.

"Yes, it seems like it." The masked boy said as he analyzed the situation. 

This was it. The battle that they've been preparing for as the ex-mist nins began the assault. 

----------o)0(o----------

Meanwhile, back at Tazuna's house, Tsunami was busy cleaning the house as she began her chores for the day.

"Inari, come and help me in the kitchen!" Tsunami hollered out to the boy.

"Hait!" Inari said as he moved towards the kitchen.

As they peacefully ran through their chores without a care in the world, two men waited outside with swords strapped to their side. 

One man wore a blue hood-down jacket, brown shorts and getas, a dirty white sash around his waist and a navy blue snowcap over his neck length silver hair. 

The other man wore getas as well. He also wore big gray pants with white zigzags on it and a jacket tied to his waist for his sword to be tied to. He wore no shirt to reveal his semi-muscular physique and the number of tattoos on his body with his stomach in bandages as he also wore an eye patch over his right eye and he had three small ponytails in reminiscence of the old samurai hairstyle. It would appear that he was a ronin with the huge stitch over his forehead and hair growing from the spaces where it would normally have been shaved if he were a samurai as his beard pointed to the ground.

An evil smirk formed on their faces as they began unsheathing their swords. The muscular ronin then sliced the door open, surprising Tsunami in fear of the two men at the door who entered as unwanted guests of the house.

"So you're Tazuna's daughter. I'm sorry, but you're coming with us." The snow capped ronin said.

As Inari had just finished washing his hands, he heard his mother scream in terror as the two ronins began roughing her up. Inari ran as fast as he could to the kitchen and saw his mother prone on the floor.

"Okaa-san!" Inari cried causing the three other people in the room to turn their heads to see the young boy. Tsunami began sweating in fear that her son was foolishly entering the scene of danger.

Fearing for the boy's life, the mother cried, "Inari, don't come here! Run!"

"What do you want kid? Should we take him too?" the muscular ronin said to his compatriot.

"We only need one hostage." The snow capped ronin replied.

Inari shirked back in fright as the muscular man brought up his sword to slay poor little Inari. Tsunami was at a loss at what to do. 

She had no other choice as she said, "Wait! If you do anything to him, I'll bite my own tongue and die! You need a hostage right?"

The two ronin gazed at her in spite as the muscular man sheathed the gleaming blade.

"Thank your mom gaki." The snow capped ronin said to the young boy.

Inari was helpless. He cried his little heart out and slumped where he stood as the two ronins approached the self-sacrificing mother.

The young boy felt darkness consume him as he thought, _'I feel so helpless. Okaa-san is going to be taken away and I can't do anything about it just like otou-san. Please! Anyone…save my mom…anyone! Oji-san…Otou-san…Naruto nii-san. Anyone!'_

"Anyone! Please save us!" Inari shouted out loud.

His cries were not in vain as a kunai struck deep in the back of the head of the snowcapped ronin rendering him dead as he fell to the floor. The muscular ronin then began to draw his sword when suddenly the butt of the hilt was kicked back as Naruto stepped his left foot into it. Without hesitation, he quickly spun to the left allowing him to give a strong roundhouse kick with his right foot to the head of the muscular ronin.

The ronin was sent flying to the wall. Before he could realized what happened, the young blonde had already plunged his right hand into the man's chest and ripped out the his heart leaving a heartless cadaver as blood gushed out of the body and began flooding the floor. 

Tsunami and Inari where shocked at the gruesome display that took only three seconds to deliver at the leisure of their innocent eyes. The red water soiled the young blonde's jacket and right hand as it dripped. 

He then looked at Inari and said, "Good thing you screamed or I'll never have woken up." _'Way too slow. Normally they'd be dead within a split second. I need a good training partner when we get back to Konoha.'_

Inari was still to shaken up by what Naruto had just done. It took a good fist to his head for him to wake up from his stupor as Naruto said, "Hey, Inari…take care of your mother for me. I need to head back to the bridge to help them out. Gato's behind all of this so I need to protect Tazuna. If anyone tries to harm your mom…"

The young blonde then handed the two swords of the dead ronins to Inari and continued, "You know what to do." 

The young blonde said as he turned around and **Shunpo'd** his way to the bridge for a final showdown with Zabuza and Haku.

----------o)0(o----------

The joint team then grit themselves for battle as the six missing nins begun their assault.

Haku ran towards the back and assaulted Sasuke with Zabuza charging Kakashi and locking him in place with the pressure of his Zanbato on Kakashi's kunai. Kurenai sprang into action to help when suddenly, one of the missing nins blocked her path. Kiba and Akamaru tried to rush to Sasuke's aid until one of the remaining missing nins also blocked his path and begun attacking him. Shino decided to help out Kiba since he could see that Sasuke was holding his own while Sakura and Hinata decided to stay out of the fight and guard Tazuna as they begun the battle on the bridge. The other two missing nins left charged the kunoichis guarding Tazuna until they were kept in check by Shino who sent a bug wall to help as he shifted his attention to the other two missing nins.

"Hinata, Sakura, please keep Tazuna safe and stay out of the fight unless we say otherwise. Without Naruto here, it will be a long battle." Shino said calmly as they begun to defend the life of Tazuna.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke's Fight

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Haku begun spinning wildly as a partial cyclone formed around him until Sasuke waited and blocked the senbon of Haku with the kunai in his right hand.

"Oh? So he was able to catch up to his speed." Zabuza said as he quickly glanced at the deadlock of Sasuke and Haku.

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings." Said the one-eyed jounin as he intentionally fell back and landed on his hands allowing Zabuza's full weight forward as he kicked the missing nin upwards.

Zabuza timed his momentum in the air and flipped so that he landed back upon solid ground just a few feet away from Kakashi as the one-eyed jounin charged with kunai in hand as he resumed the deadlock.

Sasuke managed to break away from the deadlock with Haku as he armed his other hand with a kunai and they both begun spinning hoping to use the momentum of the spin attack to stab or slice the other.

The sounds of metal clashing rang through the condensed air as their blades constantly met until they stopped spinning and landed back where they started. Neither one gave way to the other as they struggled to push.

Haku, being the normally kind and gentle soul he was, spoke to the young Uchiha with sadness in his heart. 

"I don't want to kill you, but you won't back off, right?" he said without losing his grip on the senbon.

"What are you? Stupid?" Sasuke said with all seriousness.

Haku then replied confidently, "As I thought…but you won't be able to keep up with me for my next move. And I'm already ahead of you."

'_He's just bluffing. There's no way out since I got one of his hands full.' _Sasuke thought as he kept his cool. "Two steps ahead?" the young Uchiha said sarcastically.

"The first one is the water on the ground. And the second one is that I'm keeping one of your arms busy. Therefore you can only take and block my attacks." Haku stated as he began creating seals with one hand which caught the young Uchiha by surprise.

'_Nani?! He's creating seals with one hand?!' _Sasuke thought as he witnessed abilities far beyond his capacity. 

Even Kakashi, who managed to glimpse the feat at the corner of his eyes, was surprised with the astounding ability as Haku then said, **"Hijutsu, Sensatsu Suishou."**

The masked boy then kicked the water upward causing them to transform into senbons of ice that surrounded the young Uchiha ready to impale him.

Sasuke , with his free hand, formed one handed seal and then concentrated hard as he thought, _'Remember the training. Mold up chakra immediately…and send it to my legs.'_

With the end of his chain of thoughts, came the end of the existence of Sasuke as the senbons impaled his position. Sakura was shocked however Hinata knew better as she saw Sasuke's nimble movements just before he was nearly impaled by the icicles of death.

Haku managed to back up in time to keep his distance for the next attack. But when he looked at where Sasuke once stood, he noticed that the raven-haired boy was nowhere to be found. Sasuke however was in the best place of attack as he was airborne and ready to swoop down upon the baffled Haku. The masked nin noticed it quickly and leaped back several times to evade the shuriken thrown by the raven-haired boy as he landed back down onto the ground to begin the next phase of attack.

By the time Haku had stopped, Sasuke was already behind him ready to strike.

"Your'e pretty slow. Now you can only receive and block my attacks." Sasuke said with confidence.

Both nins blurred out of the way as they resumed their assault. Haku once again got Sasuke within a deadlock as Sasuke blocked his senbon aimed at his right side with the kunai in his left hand and his right hand coiled back to his left shoulder. He then dexterously switched his grip on the kunai in his right hand and threw it at Haku causing him to duck to avoid the kunai allowing Sasuke to kick him in the face as Haku skidded a few feet away.

Zabuza then kicked Kakashi out of the way just in time to see his prized tool beaten in his own strength.

"Haku was beaten in speed?" Zabuza said as his eyes widened in amazement.

"Looks like my speed was better." Sasuke said as he ran towards Kiba to join his battle.

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Kiba's Fight

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The missing nin began by throwing a shuriken towards Kiba and made handseals as he said, "**Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!**"

The shurikens then multiplied in number and nicked Kiba's left arm as he evaded the attack until he felt a strong killing intent of a clone of the missing nin ready to strike until Sasuke swept him off his feet allowing Kiba to spin and leap back to give him a haymaker to his chest as the dog-boy drove the clone into the ground. The clone reverted back to water from the attack while the missing nin then pulled out a kusari-gama from his back and threw the weighted end at the dog boy. It caught him until Akamaru leaped out of his jacket and charged at the nin.

"Kuso! I hate dogs! Get away from me bakemono!" the nin exclaimed as he threw a kunai at the dog causing Akamaru to divert from his path to avoid the attack. 

Kiba on the other hand began to wind himself up in the chain allowing himself to close the distance with the nin until he was arms length of the nin. Sasuke then made a **Kawarimi **with Kiba allowing a log to appear in Kiba's place with an explosive note on it. The nin had no time to react as he let go at the last second and ended up getting his chest armor burned badly as he skidded back and landed on his knee.

While Kiba and Sasuke were fairing well…Shino's battle was a different story.

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Shino's Fight

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The two missing nins each threw a bottle in to the ground and then made handseals and both shouted, "**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

The water that spilled on the ground then rose and shaped themselves into clones of the nins that begun to form handseals and one shouted, " **Suiton, Suigadan**!"

The clone of one reverted back into water and became pressurized drillheads of water that headed straight for Shino. The bug user then made a wall of bugs that halted most of the attack until an opening in the wall allowed the other **Mizu Bunshin** to charge straight through and grab Shino and explode like a suicide bomber of water. The nins were surprised that the fallen body of Shino suddenly degenerated into bugs that seeped into the cracks and crevices of the wooden planks of the bridge.

"Crafty little runt. Keep close. He's hiding somewhere." The nin said to his comrade as they created more **Mizu Bunshins** to surround and protect themselves until one of the nins spotted a shade in the mist and threw a kunai at it until it revealed itself to be bugs in Shino's shape.

The kunai then dropped to the floor as the bugs sank back into the floor. The clones then huddled closer to the nins as they protected their masters with their short lives. As they tensed in the mist, a different colored smoke appeared from underneath them. They saw the smoke and begun separating as they fell for Shino's trap. Several of Shino's bugs lay in wait in the crevices of the planks and the moment the nins separated, the bugs begun latching onto them. The bugs began eating up the chakra of the clones and the originals as the clones became the first to loose shape and return back to water. The nins attempted to use their **bunshins** to wash away the bugs all to no avail as they hung on quite tightly.

"Why? How come they won't come off!" the panicked nin said to his comrade. He then grabbed onto the ledge and couldn't remove his hand and realized what just happened to them as Shino revealed himself from the mist.

"Hai. It's as you suspected. The smoke grenade contained a special substance made from bug extract to condense with water forming a sticky fluid to whatever objects it comes in contact with." Shino said as he adjusted his dark spectacles.

"Since when did you have time to get something like this? Did you foresee this?" the nin said as he became immobile to his spot.

"After our fight with Zabuza a few weeks ago, we made sure not to fall into the same traps again or potential ones since we knew the potential level of danger that we would be caught in. these grenades are proof of that." Shino said calmly as the nin slumped to the floor from chakra exhaustion.

However his comrade wasn't ready to give up as he recklessly ran past Shino and charged to maim and kill the two kunoichis and Tazuna.

'_Shoot! I let him get past me!'_ Shino thought as reached to grab his kunai only for the missing nin to be already within stabbing range as he drew his kunai and grabbed Sakura and threw her back at Shino to hamper his counterattack only to receive a sharp pain in his side from a **juuken** strike by Hinata. The nin leaped out of the way just in time as he took off his jacket and shirt to relieve himself of the bugs on it.

"Good move girl. But you could've killed me if you wanted to. Did you really think that just beating the shit outta people is enough to end the fight? You gotta get serious if you want to live. But then again why not leave these pricks and come with me instead. I've always wanted a pet and you'd be perfect. Whaddya say? It's not like you're a match for me anyway." The nin cynically said to Hinata as it terrified her.

But nonetheless she stood firm and took her stance as she readied herself for her first true life threatening battle.

Zabuza was amazed with what he saw from his point of view as he said, "These kids are pretty good to hold their own. I'm surprised."

Kakashi then confidently said, "You can't make fun of our team just because we have children. Sasuke is Konohagakure's top rookie. Sakura is the village's shrewdest child."

Zabuza then smirked as he said, "Shrewd? She got her ass handed to her by Heitaro. What's so shrewd about…"

Before he could say any further, Heitaro's right hand suddenly blew up as blood and torn and burnt up flesh splattered around. He kneeled in pain as he grabbed the bloody stump and writhe in agony. He then gazed hatefully at Sakura and screamed, "DAMN BITCH! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS! WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU, YOU'LL SCREAM FOR MERCY. I'LL VIOLATE YOU TILL YOU DIE!"

The nin went berserk and charged recklessly attempting to brutally wound Sakura in the most agonizing way. Shino then made a hasty effort and pushed Sakura aside as he took the full brunt of the nin as the nin raised his leg and shouted, "Get the fuck out of my way insect boy!" 

He then smashed his leg into Shino. The bug user made a kawarimi in the last second as he appeared a few feet at away from the nin's right side. Shino then raised his right hand and goaded him to charge at the nin. The nin fell for it and charged.

Zabuza then shook his head in embarrassment that his team was even more childish than those genins. 

"As you can see, Shino is an expert of stealth and strategy with the way he handled the fight. Kiba, his complete opposite, is in his own way a capable fighter who knows when to fight and how despite his limited skills and Akamaru as his partner. Hinata as you've just witnessed is of the Hyuga clan from her fighting style. She may be timid, but she's no pushover with the amount of determination she's shown so far." Kakashi said as he took to his stance once more.

Zabuza looked at each one carefully and true enough, the genins were talented and capable. But as he thought about the genins, he then realized something.

"You're missing one. The one who stabbed me in the back." Zabuza pointed out.

Kakashi then calmly explained, "THAT ONE…he can be really stupid at times, but is the number one in surprising people. Believe me when I say that he is an enigma." _'Even I don't know what goes on inside that thick skull of his. But at least I know it contains anything but air. I'm still surprised that he suggested that we simulate a possible battle at the bridge where we would face greater numbers. Even though we knew that the battle could be elsewhere, the chances of fighting on the bridge was too high to neglect. But to plan to this degree with all the wild cards on the enemy's side and still cope up is something that an experienced war captain would do. I just wonder for how long we can hold them till Naruto gets here.'_

Unfortunately for Kakashi, that would be a few more seconds as Kurenai decided to end her fight.

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Kurenai's Fight

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Kurenai decided to focus on taijustu since her opponent was less skilled in taijutsu than her. The nin then brought out a small hatchet and tried to even the odds as he swung it left and right until Kurenai grabbed that arm with her left hand and stabbed the kunai into it. The nin didn't flinch as he grabbed her by the neck with his free hand until she kicked him away. The nin then removed the kunai just in time to see the crimson-eyed jounin dissapear into cherry blossoms. He then placed his hands into a familiar seal and said, "**Kai**!"

The genjutsu failed as the nin then turned around and punched her deep in the gut as he brought out his kunai and stabbed her in the arm as he threw her back on the floor and began tearing up her clothing with his bare hands as he pinned her against her will. She was helpless and the nin smiled wildly as he said, "That wound is payback. But I'll be gentle this time. I'll take my time with you so that I can have my fun."

The nin then began squeezing her breasts until his hands suddenly sank deep into her body and Kurenai wrapped her legs around his waist. The nin panicked as she transformed into a cherry blossom tree that had him in its grasp as the branches formed around his body and held him upside down while half of Kurenai's body emerged from the top of the trunk as she said with kunai in hand, "This wound will be payback for you perverted personality. But I'll be gentle this time. I'll take my time with you so that I can have my fun."

The nin panicked as sweat poured from his face. She then plunged the kunai into his crotch without hesitation as the nin screamed in agony from the horrible wound that he received. She then twisted the blade which inflicted more pain as she then slid her torso along with the blade allowing the kunai to split him in half until the genjustu faded leaving her crouching beside the now brain dead nin from the suffering of shock.

Zabuza and Kakashi, who were the only ones that was witnessing that battle shuddered in fear as they both thought, _'She's scary when she's serious. I'd better keep clear for now.'_

Kurenai then tried to get back on her feet as she held her left arm and gut until she keeled over and fell on her hands and knees.

"I knew I should have fought him a bit more seriously. But then again we were evenly matched until now." Kurenai said as she panted and relieved herself of the bloody kunai in her left arm.

All in all, the battle was swinging in the joint team's favor as the young blonde was nearing the bridge.

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Kiba's Fight

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Kiba then fed Akamaru a soldier pill causing the dog to become more feral as its coat of fur became a deep crimson with its locks of fur standing more feral than before. This of course scared the nin since his fear of dogs became more evident as he backed away.

Seeing the rattled senses of the nin, Akamaru then leaped on Kiba's head as the dog boy quickly made handseals and said, "This is a technique passed down to the Inuzuka clan for generations. I haven't learned the other one that can be used with this one in a combo, but this should be good enough for you. **Juujin Bunshin!**"

The dog boy then crouched on all fours and his loyal partner transformed into a feral clone of him on top of him as Kiba's nails and fangs grew longer.

"Kuso! I hate dogs! I'll make sure that your filthy hands never scar me again." The nin said as he leaped on top of a ledge and made five **Mizu Bunshins** to keep the dog boy and his feral companion busy as the two leaped into action and began tearing through the ranks. But by the time they had finished, the original was on top of the railings of the bridge and he had finished his handseals. 

Sasuke noticed the handseals and quickly ran to the dog boy's side and began his own set as the missing nin then said, "**Suiton, ****Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**"

The same dragon of pure water rose from the side of the nin and reared its head as it tore through the side of the bridge and flushed Kiba in its water as it began carrying him away. Akamaru then came charging at the nin to break his concentration. He lunged his head at the nin and bit down hard his neck only to find out that it was a **Mizu Bunshin**.

"With all this much fog I can't find him properly." Said the dog boy on the other side of the bridge hanging from a railing. 

The water dragon was too much for the dog boy and now he was several stories above the watery grave that waits below him to carry him to the next life.

The nin then approached the ledge and looked down to see the boy hanging by a thread while his companion with a missing hand smirked as he kept his gaze upon Shino who was worried of Kiba's predicament as did Sakura, Hinata and Tazuna.

The nin gazing at the boy then made two clones as him and his clone began the same set of seals once more while the other clone then went towards the nin with a missing hand and aided him in forming the same set of seals as they quickened their pace. 

Kurenai tried to get up but was too far to reach them in time as Shino made a bug wall around Sakura and Hinata. Kiba managed to climb back up just in time for all four nins to shout, "**Suiton, ****Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**"

Four water dragons rose from the sides of the bridge and tore through the ranks as it flushed Kiba, Kurenai, Shino, Sakura, Hinata and Tazuna.

"Oh no!" Kakashi said as he turned tail and ran to them only to get cleaved in half by Zabuza's Zanbato. 

Zabuza then smirked. "Keep watch of your back Kakashi. It's disgraceful." He said until the fallen form of Kakashi transformed into water. 

The one-eyed jounin couldn't get close with the water dragons rampaging the bridge until he heard Sasuke shout, "**Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"**

The raven-haired boy then blew a giant fireball at them as it cancelled one of the dragons but could not stop the other three.

"A fire that small isn't going to stop…" the nin could not say anymore as kunai hidden within the flames passed through the other dragons and killed the two clones and lodged themselves in the shoulder of the nin missing a hand and the leg of the water dragon summoning nin causing the dragons to disperse back into water that flooded the surface of the bridge before receding and streaming out through the sides which made it look like several small waterfalls as the bridge became slippery with the watery coating.

After the water attack, Kurenai and Shino were both knocked out of the fight as Kakashi managed to save them and Sakura, Hinata, and Tazuna from immediate danger. Kiba managed to leap out on his own while Akamaru had reverted back to normal as he sat beside Kiba.

Sasuke made a weak smile until several senbons lodged on his back. he turned his head to see nothing until he reflexively realized as he saw Haku's foot smash into his face causing him to skid to the back.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted as Hinata held Sakura back and said, "Sakura-san. Please focus or you may never live to see him again."

Sakura looked over to Hinata and realized she was right. Her hands were trembling saying that she was worried as well but she knew better than to let her guard down.

"It's a shame." Haku stated as he approached Sasuke.

The raven-haired boy got up to his feet as he drew his twin kunais once more. He sharpened his gaze at the masked boy as he got into a fighting stance once more with an aura of cold air emanating from him.

"That's cold air." Sasuke said as his eyes widened at what he saw.

Haku began forming handseals. As he molded his chakra, ice began forming behind and around the two as they formed into the shape of mirrors that began to surround them in a globe.

At the same time, the two nins still alive aside from Zabuza and Haku, removed the kunai from their bodies and threw the bloody pieces of metal back at Kurenai and Shino. Kakashi went in front of the two and deflected the kunai with his own but was too late to stop the charging nins as they attacked Kiba and the rest of the team aside from Sasuke.

The genins were too dazed from the last attack to do anything until two young blondes kicked them aside. Hinata brightened up in joy as Sakura made a sigh of relief. Before she could comment on the situation, the clone near the nin with one hand quickly rushed in. the nin threw a fist as Naruto swerved to the left and went under his arm and threw his hand in and it sank deep into his solar plexus as the red water flowed into his arm. The clone smiled as he pulled out his intestine and while holding the bloody organ, ran towards the back of the other nin as the original attacked the nin.

The nin was too exhausted from the last attack to move out of the way and decided to block the fist sent at him as the nin put up his two arms to block the left fist. But at the last second, Naruto switched the fist into an open hand as he grabbed the two arms and pulled them down and gave him an elbow to the left temple before giving him a side kick back for the clone to do his job as the clone wrapped around him the bloody intestine like a rope before sending the two nins to their watery grave that was the river below.

The nin wrapped in his companions insides managed to glimpse the young blonde's crimson slit eyes as the young blonde transformed the clone into a large shuriken for him to hold in his right hand.

"Kuso! He's the Kyubbi vessel. I need to report this to Zetsu-sama!" the nin said as he fell into the water, tied to the cadaver of his companion. This of course did not bode well to Naruto's ears as the nin was carried downstream.

The young blonde was at a loss at the nins words until his fiery tenant told him, **Don't worry about him gaki. The main base of Gato should be downstream so if he lives, which he would, we can interrogate him later.**

The ones who witnessed that fight were surprised by his sudden entrance and the way he dealt with the nins as the young blonde said, "Uzumaki Naruto is reporting for duty. Nice to meet you all!"

This of course, snapped them out of their stupor. Zabuza, who was amused by the fight, said, "I presume he's the number one at surprising people. The enigma you mentioned."

Kakashi nodded as Naruto commanded, "Kiba, Sasuke needs our help. Hinata and Sakura, pull out Kurenai and Shino from the fight. Kakashi-sensei, do you think you can stall Zabuza?"

"For how long I don't know. But if worst comes to worst I'll have to kill him." Kakashi said to the young blonde as the team did as they were commanded. But of course, Naruto didn't make it in time to stop Haku before he brought up his technique as the masked boy said, "**Hijutsu, Makyo Hyoshou!**"

Sasuke was trapped in the half globe formation of ice mirrors as Haku entered one and his reflection was seen on all the mirrors.

"What is that technique?" Kakashi questioned. Zabuza laughed as he crossed his arms in confdence.

"These are…mirrors. What is he going to do?" Sasuke said, as he found no opening to leap out from.

Zabuza then blocked Kakashi from turning to save his student as he said, "I'm your opponent, remember? He's a goner now that Haku has used that technique."

Haku then told the young Uchiha, "Let's begin. I will show you my true speed."

The masked nin began throwing senbon after senbon as it grazed the young Uchiha left and right. Sasuke began screaming and grunting from the velocity and sharpness of the senbons that pierced the young Uchiha's skin.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed as she saw her crush being slowly torn asunder by the needles that cut and pierced the raven-haired boy.

"Kuso! You're not getting away with this!" Kiba said as he formed a handseal and then shouted, "**Juujin Bunshin!**" Akamaru transformed into a clone of Kiba and they both attacked the mirrors.

"Yamero Kiba!" Naruto shouted as Kiba and Akamaru were suddenly pushed back by several senbons that sprouted out of the outside of the mirrors. Akamaru was knocked out of the fight as Kiba struggled to get up.

"Kiba-kun, Akamaru!" Hinata said as she helped the dog-boy and his companion.

"Kuso…I can't get up properly." The dog boy said as he winced in pain before being set down with his dog next to Kurenai and Shino. 

Hinata then activated her **Byakugan** and scanned his body as she slowly took out the senbons from the both of them.

"He paralyzed your nerves so you won't be able to fight for the duration of the day. That and also you were exhausted from the last fight. Let Naruto-kun handle the fight now." Hinata said as she took out her healing salve and began placing them on the wounds of Kurenai, Shino Kiba and Akamaru.

Kakashi on the other hand was at a bind as Zabuza said to him, "If you move without thinking, I'll kill the three behind you and the rest of your team if they interfere."

Sakura could not take it any longer as she mustered her courage and said to the old bridge builder and Hinata, "Tazuna-san, I'm sorry. I'm going to move from here for a minute. Hinata-chan, please look after them for a while."

"Sure. Go." Tazuna said as Kiba tried to protest. 

Sakura then took out a kunai from her holster and leaped up into the air and threw it as she said, "Take this!"

The kunai then headed straight in between the mirrors. The pink-haired girl then thought, _'Yosh! It will make it!'_

'_It's too slow. Haku will catch it for sure.' _The young blonde thought as he reached into his pouch for a bag of salt from his first aid kit. While the kunai passed through the space, Haku did catch it in midair from one of the mirrors.

Sakura was shocked as she exclaimed, "He caught it!"

The raven-haired boy fell to his knees as blood gushed out of his forehead and arms and legs. Naruto sharpened his gaze as he stabbed his large shuriken into the floor and took a set of shuriken and tied some wire to them and coated the shuriken in salt from the pouch of his first aid kit and placed a chakra storage tag upon them.

Haku then went back inside of the mirror as Naruto said to the masked boy, "Haku…I'm not surprised that you joined the fight. But my offer still stands. But I will not hesitate to end your life if you decide to kill my precious people like the ronins that Gato sent to try and kidnap Tsunami and Inari back at their house."

Many emotions were thrown into the mix as each had different thoughts. Tazuna was panicked at what he heard until Naruto said, "Don't worry. They're all right. I took care of them before I left that's why I'm late."

The team sighed in relief while Zabuza said, "Typical of that swine to try something dirty. He sends his tools to do his dirty work while he rests in a comfy chair back at his headquarters."

Kakashi then hardened his gaze at the Zanbato wielding nin and said, "Knowing that you still persist? I'm guessing that Naruto met your subordinate some days ago and asked him to stop all this because he knew that Gato was a very cruel man with the way he was doing things to meet his ends. Am I right Naruto?"

The young blonde nodded as Sasuke began to get up as he thought, _'Naruto said he won't hesitate to end his life if he decides to kill us. So does that mean he's just toying with us? He didn't aim for any vital organs. With his skill I should have been dead by now. But when did that baka meet him?'_

"Sasuke! Look alive!" Naruto then threw his large shurken to the mirror until Haku threw his senbons at the shuriken causing his clone to poof out of existence. The young blonde then took his salt-coated shurikens and charged at the mirrors.

"While they're busy fighting Haku, lets continue our match." Zabuza said as he created more mist that killed the line of sight of Kakashi. He could no longer see Tazuna and the injured crew or his team seven. The battle with Zabuza must be won either way for him to aid his team.

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Naruto's Fight

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While running towards the mirrors, he created clones of himself as the clones surrounded the mirrors. The original then threw his shurikens allowing his clones to grab them as the simultaneously threw them to spin and maneuver around the mirrors as the wires stuck on the mirrors before intersecting and falling inside the half-globe formation for Sasuke to catch.

By the time Haku understood what was the young blonde's plan, Sasuke got to work as he grabbed the shurikens and quickly did handseals before shouting, "**Katon, Ryuuka no Jutsu!"**

The raven-haired boy then blew the flames through the wire as the plume quickly passed along the wire and into the entangled mirrors causing them to break and shatter apart as Haku landed safely behind Sasuke with kunai in hand until Naruto gave him a quick kick to the face only to realize that he was a **Mizu Bunshin.**

"Where did he go?" Sasuke questioned until both of them noticed that there were mirrors around them in a larger arc than before.

"It's useless. The trick was clever but I still have the upper hand." Haku said as he threw senbons at the clones and Naruto and Sasuke. Both the young blonde and the raven-haired boy fell on their backs as the clones dispersed.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" Sakura shouted in horror as her teammates were being beaten.

Naruto began getting up and screamed, "I won't let you beat me Haku. I have a dream and to fulfill it, I will do whatever it takes to do so."

This caused Haku to inwardly shed tears as he remembered that day when Zabuza first found him beside a bridge in the cold snow.

The masked nin then said with sadness in his voice, "It is difficult for me to become a pure shinobi. If it's possible, I do not want to kill you. And I do not want to make you kill me. However, if you are going to fight me, I will kill my compassion with a blade and become a shinobi. This bridge is a battleground that leads to the dreams of many people. I will fight for my dream. And you will fight for your dream. Please do not hold any grudges. I want to protect an important person. I want to work for him, fight for him, and make his dreams come true. That is my dream. In order to make it come true, I will become a shinobi. I will kill you!"

"Stop joking around Haku!" Naruto shouted at the masked nin that was taken aback by his words.

The young blonde then took out the pair of katars hanging from the back of his jacket and strapped them on as he said, "You call that a dream? That's just payback for Zabuza's kindness. It's not a dream. Have you ever had an ambition of your own that you're willing to put yourself on the line for? That's a dream. My dream is to become the Hokage of Konoha and no one told me to dream it. I did. It is my dream and I will do whatever it takes to achieve it."

When the young blonde had strapped the katars well on his arms, he gazed at Haku with his flaming azure eyes and said, "That, my friend is a dream that I will become a shinobi for. I will kill you if you stand in my way!"

Naruto then made twenty **Kage Bunshins** and then ordered Sasuke. "Oi, Sasuke…can you keep track of Haku's movements? My **bunshins** will stall you long enough to find the pattern of his movements. When you do, use this smoke bomb and we'll take him together."

Naruto then handed the smoke bomb to Sasuke as the **bunshins** made a mad dash for the mirrors.

Clone after clone was being destroyed by senbons while Sasuke began concentrating on finding Haku's location. They endured the hellion of his attacks as the senbons flew.

'_It was faint…but I saw a trace of his movements!' _Sasuke thought as he kicked up some water in the air.

"You don't understand it's futile?" Haku said as begun his assault once more. The senbons kept flying and tearing through the flesh of the young blonde and the young Uchiha. For Sasuke, it was a painful experience since there was no other alternative. For Naruto however, it was a different story as his tenant ranted to him.

**Baka. What are you trying to achive this time with your stupidity?**

The young blonde inwardly smirked as he told his tenant, _'Sasuke's __**Sharingan.**__ By doing this method, we can awaken his powers like last time. After it's awakened, he'll have the ability to track Haku's movements much clearer.'_

Both genins fell back on the floor as Naruto quickly got up and said, "Again!"

The clones kept coming in and so did the senbons.

'_Just because I saw a trace of him doesn't mean that I can actually see him move. But the water is getting repelled. But what if that isn't water? Okay the next time he attacks, I'll make my move.' _Sasuke thought as he got up and looked clearly the movements of the masked boy as he kept repelling Naruto's efforts.

Sasuke took advantage of the distraction and blew a fireball at Haku. The masked boy was surprised by what he saw, but he didn't flinch as he moved back and forth from the mirrors and took out the clones one by one. That was until one clone was left and Sasuke got the timing almost perfectly and blew a fireball that slightly singed Haku's pants. This didn't go unnoticed by Naruto as he saw Sasuke's determined eyes.

'_Just a little more and he'll get it.'_ Naruto thought as he made more clones and attacked once again. This time, as Naruto ran towards the mirror to get outside, Haku quickly glided towards that area allowing Sasuke to quickly form handseals and blow his fireball once again to Haku who evaded it and while still in mid-air, threw a senbon that lodged into Sasuke's shoulder as he attacked Naruto forcing the young blonde back near Sasuke's side.

"Just a little more." The young blonde said as he attempted the same method without the clones. Sasuke ran to the other side but was repelled by Haku once again as they both had senbons lodged into them and fell back in place. They couldn't move until they heard Sakura scream. 

Naruto knew things were going to get ugly at this point. He then poured chakra into his feet and said, "Alright. Let's see if you can keep up this time."

The young blonde then sprinted around the mirrors as Haku followed him.

"Naruto, behind you!" Sasuke shouted to the young blonde. Naruto then leaped back and out of the way as he used the wind to swing his body fast enough to evade the senbons. As he kept running and evading while Sasuke kept his focus.

'_This is bad. He won't be able to keep this up for very long. I need to do something.'_ Sasuke thought as he saw Haku switch his focus and send senbons at him instead. Naruto wasn't able to catch the senbons in time so Sasuke then quickly took a senbon from the floor and deflected them allowing Naruto to charge close enough to the mirror where Haku was and intentionally slip so he can kick water onto the surface of the mirror as Haku switched his location again.

'_How could he see my movements? I was going for his vulnerable spots but he keeps dodging them.'_ Haku thought as he began his assault once more.

Sasuke was able to dodge and deflect the senbons as Naruto used his katars as shields to defend himself while he too dodged the senbons he could at this level.

'_They should be hanging by a thread…No, that's not it. The black haired one named Sasuke is fighting as well as covering for that boy. Can he see my movements?'_ Haku thought as he saw the way Sasuke was fighting. Slowly, but surely, Sasuke was adapting and getting used to the movements of the senbons though some still managed to get by and hit him.

'Calm down. Concentrate on his movements, and see through him!' Sasuke thought as he finally was able to see Haku's movements much clearer.

Haku then began to let loose his next attack giving Sasuke the signal to move. Sasuke then pushed Naruto aside and leaped away as the senbons landed on the ground. Haku was baffled by how the young Uchiha was able to perform such a feat until he noticed the eyes of the raven-haired boy. It was the same eyes as Kakashi except there were only two tomoe instead of three. 

Naruto noticed this and smiled as he said, "Alright. You got your **Sharingan** active. Lets beat that sucker down."

Sasuke then smirked as he threw down the smoke bomb allowing the cloud to hamper Haku's vision.

"This cloud won't affect my vision. I can still see where you are." Haku stated as he saw a silhouette of the two. He then shifted to the mirror behind the silhouette of Sasuke and threw the senbons. They landed until the shape transformed into that of a log and a crackling sound was heard. Suddenly, the log exploded blowing away the smoke and cracking the mirror as he saw Sasuke, with senbon in hand, attempt to break the mirror further. He looked for an opening to run to and saw that Naruto was shielding his eyes from the blast. He then took to the mirror behind him and was about to attack the blonde until Naruto smiled and quickly lunged his katars into the mirror. The mirror cracked as the surface melted rapidly allowing Naruto to give Haku a good headbutt to his face as the nin was thrown back with his masked cracked open as blood began to trickle from his forehead.

Sasuke was too tired to move any further and fainted giving Naruto the chance to take down Haku without restrictions.

**Now gaki! **Naruto's tenant screamed at him. 

The young blonde then used **Shunpo** just as Haku was about to get up. This of course surprised him as the young blonde appeared behind him and said, "**Kanashibari no Jutsu!**"

The young blonde then used his chakra empowered hand and touched Haku's nape causing the young bishounen to fall prone to the floor, paralyzed by the technique.

"How did you do defeat me? And what was that technique you just used? And how do you know an ANBU level jutsu?" Haku questioned as he looked into the flaming azure eyes of the blonde for answers to which he complied as he knelt down to explain.

"The smoke bomb was all part of the plan. I lured you to get behind a specific mirror that was coated in water from when I slipped. When Sasuke had been able to read your movements carefully, he used the smoke bomb to hide our presence so that you wouldn't be able to see me hand an explosive tag to him and tell him about the property of my katars which was pure sodium." The young blonde explained.

Haku grew wide eyed when he realized how it was done. He then said to the young blonde, "So that's what happened. Sodium is highly reactant to water and you used that to your advantage. But that makes things more complex since a specially made weapon cannot be brought around everywhere he or she went unless the user knew when to exactly bring such a weapon for such an occasion. Who are you Naruto?"

"A friend. That's who. Unfortunately, you won't be able to help Zabuza anymore in your condition. So use the time you have there on the floor to reflect on things. After all, if Zabuza had the heart to nurse you and raise you, then he also has the heart to allow you to live your life the way you see fit. You're not a tool. We all are weak human beings that need to live in order to get stronger and we still have emotions as long as we live. The only thing you can do now is live for him and get stronger than he is. That's what a human being does. Tell me, what is your ambition?" Naruto said as he used **Shunpo** and carried Sasuke on his back and used **Shunpo** again to join the protection of Tazuna as the mirrors of Haku cracked and splintered apart leaving Haku to ponder on Naruto's words.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kakashi's Fight

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kakashi stood in his ground as he heard the explosion followed by Sasuke's voice as it suddenly changed from a question to screams of agony.

Zabuza smirked as he said, "It sounds like they're being beaten. It won't take long once Haku uses that technique. After all, he created that jutsu all by himself and I can't copy it."

Kakashi sharpened his gaze as he replied, "A Bloodline Limit jutsu. So that explains it."

Soon enough, Kakashi heard the screams of Sakura. He then shouted to the mist, "Sakura! Go and protect Tazuna now!"

Soon, fleeting footsteps were heard as Sakura headed for Tazuna where Hinata was guarding in front of him. When the Hyuga heiress saw Sakura through her **Byakugan**, she then hollered out to Sakura, "Sakura-san! What happened to Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun? What about Kakashi-sensei?"

When the pink haired girl arrived and guarded Tazuna alongside Hinata, she then replied, "Sasuke-kun and Naruto are battling Haku right now. They're not doing too well. I hope they beat him."

"I see." Hinata replied. Though she said that, her mind contradicted that as she thought, _'There's no way Naruto-kun could allow himself to be beaten by a shinobi of Haku's level without reason. He must have something planned. But what could it be?'_

Only Kami knew what Naruto was up to making even the one-eyed jounin wonder. 

As Kakashi racked his mind for a strategy to defeat Zabuza, he realized there was no other choice as he reached for his hitai-ate and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to finish this quickly."

Zabuza smirked as he replied, "Sharingan eh? How unoriginal."

The Zanbato wielding nin then reached his left hand into his pocket and quickly dashed to Kakashi as he brought out a kunai in his left hand and lunged it to Kakashi's head as the one-eyed jounin managed to catch his hand before it reached. However, he wasn't able to lift his hitai-ate because of the attack.

Blood began to drip from his right hand that caught the blade on instinct as the red water made droplets on the floor. Kakashi wasn't afraid to get hurt. More so when Zabuza lunged like that at him.

The confident, bleeding jounin looked Zabuza in the eye and said, "Even if you say its unoriginal, are you still afraid of my Sharingan, Zabuza?"

Zabuza countered that question by replying to him, "You're not supposed to show your master technique more than one time to another shinobi."

Kakashi then replied, "Be thankful, you're the only one who gets to see this eye more than once. And there will not be a third time."

Feeling still confident, Zabuza then said to him, "Even if you can beat me, you can't beat Haku. I've taught him fighting techniques since he was a little boy. I taught him everything I knew. And he proceeded to improve his own techniques. As a result, he was able to produce results in any difficult situation imaginable. He threw away his beliefs in a heart and a life. He is a fighting machine labeled as a shinobi. On top of that, his techniques surpass mine. He has that dreadful ability, the Bloodline Limit. I got myself an advanced tool. He's different from the scraps you carry!"

Zabuza then withdrew the kunai from Kakashi's bleeding hand as he backed away a few steps to get into position.

"Even if scraps attack in numbers, they can't beat Haku. He is the best tool." Zabuza said with a smug grin underneath his bandaged mouth.

Kakashi was not amused. The one-eyed jounin then said, "There's nothing more boring than hearing someone brag. Let's begin."

With that, he lifted his hitai-ate revealing his **Sharingan** eye. Zabuza smirked at his luck.

"Wait up. Let me brag to you about one more thing." Zabuza said as he tucked away his bloody kunai.

Kakashi listened warily as Zabuza said, "I didn't simply get defeated by you in the last battle. I made Haku observe the battle as he hid. Haku is smart as well. With his analyzation skill, he can create a counter for any move he sees just once."

Kakashi knew he wasn't bluffing with the way he counteracted his removal of his hita-ate over his left eye. He listened well as Zabuza continued.

"I've been eager to copy what you said. Let me tell you that the same technique won't work against me twice, was it?" the Zanbato wielding nin said in mockery to Kakashi.

Zabuza then made a handseal and said his trademark jutsu, "**Kiri Gakure no Jutsu!**"

Mist began to engulf the surroundings even further causing Zabuza to disappear from sight.

"What is this super thick fog? The visibility is almost down to zero." Tazuna said as visibility dropped drastically.

Thinking on her feet, Hinata then said, "Tazuna-san, stick close to me. Zabuza is probably using this mist to conceal his movements. Even with the **Byakugan**, I can't see him very well so we need to be on guard." 

"This is just perfect. We're going to hear his sarcastic voice again. My ears are already ringing from all the water that went in." Kiba said as he tried to clean his ears of any water left in his ears as Sakura huddled closer.

Kakashi kept calm as he thought, _'Even if he concealed himself in this mist, the mist is too thick…Zabuza himself shouldn't be able to see anything either.'_

A familiar whirring sound could be heard behind the white-haired jounin as it got louder and sharper. Thinking on his feet, he reflexively turned around and quickly deflected the shurikens that were tossed at him to hit him from behind.

"You dodged that quite nicely. Just what I expected from Kakashi, the** Sharingan** user." Zabuza said to Kakashi from behind him with eyes shut as he concentrated his chakra with a handseal.

'_He…has his eyes closed.' _Kakashi thought as he saw the focused nin.

"But when you see me next, that will be the end. You overestimate your **Sharingan.**" Zabuza said as he concealed himself in the mist once more.

"You talk as if you knew everything…" Zabuza said as his voice continued to echo around Kakashi. Zabuza then continued his threat as he said, "Your prediction was incorrect. Kakashi, you cannot see through my mind or the future. Your **Sharingan** is just trickery that makes another think so. One who possesses the **Sharingan** has an eye of insight and an eye of hypnosis. Using those two abilities, you executed techniques one by one and acted like you knew the future. First you copied my movement right away using your eye of insight. This is the Form Manipulation Step. You used that to disturb me…and once you confirmed that my mind was shaking, you pretended that you were me and decided what I was thinking. That was the Mind Manipulation Step. Then after you confirmed I was severely disturbed…you set up a clever trap. You used your eye of hypnosis to show me an illusion, made me form seals first, then copied it. This is the Technique Manipulation Step."

Kakashi was marveled and panicked at the detailed analysis he made of the **Sharingan** as Zabuza then said, "Since that is the case, the solution is easy. First I conceal myself in this heavy fog and render your eye of insight useless."

Kakashi leaped out of the way just in time to avoid a deep sword wound from Zabuza.

'**Kuso, I can't guard myself in time.'** Kakashi thought as he got back on his feet with his kunai drawn. 

"Then I close my eyes and kill the possibility that you will use your eye of hypnosis in close combat." Zabuza stated.

"Why? That makes you blind too." Kakashi said, stating the obvious.

"Have you forgotten? I am a master of silent killing. I can locate a target with just sound." Zabuza said causing the white-haired jounin to pale in realization of how vulnerable his situation was. He fought with himself first in order to focus on finding a way to Zabuza.

The white-haired jounin sighed as he thought, _'Kuso. It's been a long time since I had to fight in such a bad situation. I'm worried about Sasuke and Naruto but…focus Kakashi. Be calm. Think. Where will he strike?'_

Like lightning, the answer flashed in his mind.

"Shoot!" Kakashi said as he ran towards Tazuna and the group. Tazuna was already tense as Hinata guarded his rear with Sakura at the front. Kurenai and Shino were just about to wake up when Kiba sniffed something unfamiliar in the air.

"Watch out!" the dog boy cried as Zabuza appeared right before Hinata with sword raised. Kakashi jumped in just in time as Zabuza said, "Too slow!" with that, he swung his sword down nicking the chest of Kakashi. Sakura screamed in fright as Hinata froze on the spot in terror. Kurenai and Shino had just woken up as they saw the bleeding form of Kakashi but were still too dazed to help.

"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura muttered.

The wound was superficial but a wound nonetheless as Zabuza took pride in his efforts as he said, "You were slow to guard yourself, Kakashi. Your wish to help those kids made you lose your cool and further fog up that **Sharingan **of yours. Even if you have nice eyes, your ability to read an enemy's movement is numbing. Come on. Entertain me some more Kakashi. I want to pay you back in a more fun way. Haku will beat those kids soon so there's no need to worry about them."

"I doubt that Zabuza-san." Hinata exclaimed as the nin smirked in protest.

Zabuza readied his sword behind him as he said to Kakashi, "Cry and apologize to them about your lack of power in the other world."

The nin then chuckled darkly as he disappeared from view once more.

"It looks like things aren't going so well. And I can barely stand straight." Kurenai said as she helped Shino up as well. And just in time, Naruto arrived with Sasuke on his back.

Sakura dreaded at what she saw happened to them as she exclaimed, "Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto then laid down Sasuke on the floor as he plucked out the senbons from his body.

Sakura looked to the young blonde to whom he answered, "I'm not sure. He exhausted himself in battle and suffered deep wounds in several places."

The pink-haired kunoichi bowed in regret as she gazed her eyes on the unconscious form of Sasuke as her eyes welled up in tears. Hinata the looked after Naruto as she said, "Naruto-kun, you need to rest this time. Let them handle it from here."

Kakashi then ran a bit further away from the group and hollered out to Zabuza, "Hey Zabuza, let's end this fight right now. What do you say?"

"Impatient to help out your friends. But a grand end sounds nice to write about when I take your head."

Kakashi then took out a scroll from his front pocket and unraveled it as he laid it out on the floor and rubbed his thumb on his wound and then onto the scroll as he made handseals and said, "**Kuchiyose, Doton, Tsuiga no Jutsu!**"

He then placed his right hand upon the scroll and soon Zabuza cried in pain as the mist cleared revealing his position in front of them with several dogs biting down hard on him to keep him in place.

"But How?" Zabuza questioned.

"The answer is simple. My blood was on your sword. Those ninken are trained to sniff out their target in which case is my blood that also was on your sword. I really don't have timeto explain but I will use my only original technique on you so pay attention since it will be your last."

Kakashi then blurred through many handseals which astonished both Zabuza and the rest of the team including Naruto who still was marveled at the speed he was performing the handseals. the moment Kakashi finished the last handseal, he then held his right hand close to his chest and supported it with his left as lightning began forming around his hand.

"No way! First a water dragon now lightning?" Kiba exclaimed.

"My only original jutsu. **Raikiri!**" Kakashi said before charging at breakneck speed and thrusting his electrically charged hand into Zabuza's chest. Time seemed to stop for the team as did Haku who was able to see what was going to happen. He was helpless and could not do a thing to help his mentor except watch his untimely demise before the arm went through the man's chest. Haku's eyes widened as tears began to fall from them. Zabuza coughed out blood as the weight of the red water tore the bandages on his mouth. Zabuza saw his life flash before his eyes as his memories both good and bad passed through his mind unti one memory stuck long enough for him to see clearly.

_Flashback_

_Haku had just returned from the forest carrying his bag of herbs as he sat beside Zabuza's bed and begun grinding up the herbs as he started the process to transform them into medicine._

_Zabuza looked over to Haku and saw a pleasant expression on his face. He wondered what the young bishounen was so happy about and decided to ask him._

"_What's with your face today?" Zabuza asked of him._

_Haku then sighed as he replied, "Zabuza-san…is there any other way to live than the way we are living now as monsters?"_

_Zabuza felt a deep wound in his heart from what he heard. But he knew that it wouldn't take long before he could think on his own._

"_There are many paths in life. But as long as you choose this path, you will forever be my tool and a monster. Understood?" Zabuza stated coldly._

"_I understand completely Zabuza-san. I just wanted to hear it from you." Haku said as he smiled. It was a fake one though as sadness could be felt emanating from the young bishounen."_

_End of Flashback_

Zabuza felt another pang in his heart as he saw the sad expression on Haku's face. With the last of his strength, the dying nin then said, "Shinobi are tools of war and destruction. But before we are shinobi…we are human first. We cannot completely change that fact. That smile on your face proves it as well as those tears from your eyes. I'm sorry I couldn't show you the right path in life. But please…live….so you can find that path…yourself…."

And so, Zabuza fell upon Kakashi's shoulder as his body grew cold while the mist completely faded away. Kakashi then looked over his shoulder and saw Haku lying prone on the floor in tears as Sasuke began to stir. Sakura was delighted to hear his voice as his eyes opened up. She smiled in delight as she hugged him and said his name before he sat back up and said, "So it's finally over."

Kakashi nodded as he placed Zabuza's body on the floor and returned to the team's side as Naruto came back with Haku tied up. The nin died with a sad smile on his face as Haku stared into Zabuza's lifeless eyes. 

It was a sad moment as Kurenai then said to her team, "What Zabuza said about shinobis are true. But what he said about us being human first is also true. This is the life we chose to live in. this is the life we will face everyday where death is a part of our job."

Hinata then went closer to Haku and stared at the corpse of the nin as she said, "He really cared about you despite how cold he was to you. He said…"

"I know what he said. I read his lips. He was a cold man. But he also was a caring one even though he was a monster. He even got mad at me when I told him that I met Naruto in the forest and the offer he made me. But he also looked out for my welfare and cried at times. He wasn't perfect, but he was the closest family I ever had aside from my mother and father. And just like them he withered away."

Naruto then placed his left hand on Haku's shoulder and his right hand on his nape as the young blonde discreetly removed the paralysis of his nerves as he said to Haku, "At least in the end, he decided to give you the right path and your freedom. It's up to you now what you want to do with that freedom."

But during this solemn moment, Gato and his goons arrived on the other end of the bridge as Gato stepped out of the crowd and said, "I'm disappointed in the both of you.

Haku looked at Gato coldly as he asked him, "What is the meaning of this?"

"We had a little change in plans. I'm glad that one of you died so now I have less work to take care of." Gato said as he approached the body of Zabuza and placed his foot on it. Haku's blood begun to boil as Gato gave the corpse a good kick as he said, "Worthless piece of scum should die like the dogs they are. In the end, it's the master who get the meat not the dog sent to fetch it."

As the cruel man snickered and his mob of thugs laughed, Naruto released the ropes that bound Haku as he nodded at him. Haku looked over to the other team and they all nodded. Even Tazuna said, "If he's that important to you, then make sure he gets a proper burial later.

Haku then got up and removed the bun tying his hair back as he approached the corpse causing Gato to back up in fear. Haku then knelt down and placed his hands over Zabuza's eyes as he closed them. 

The young bishounen then closed his eyes and said, "You always ordered me to do your bidding and I complied. Now that I am free, I will do one last wish for you before setting off live the life I choose."

Haku then opened his eyes revealing them to be cold and uncaring as he quickly took Zabuza's Zanbato. Gato was even more fearful as he ran away and said, "Don't come near me! What are you waiting for boys? Get him!"

Gato ran to the very back and felt safe and secure until Haku charged swiftly and darted in and out of the mob until he was right in front of Gato who coincidentally backed away until he was just in front of the railings of the bridge. 

Haku then lifted his sword up and said, "For your cruelty against these people and Zabuza as well as the cruelty to other people you have terrorized…receive your punishment. May Kami-sama have mercy on you."

And the young bishounen swung his sword horizontally as the blade decapitated Gato's head as both the head and body fell into the water below. Haku then strapped the sword behind him as he marched back to the team and said, "Arigato, for allowing me to avenge my mentor's death. I'm sorry for all the troubles I have caused."

"You think we'd forgive you just like that after what you did?" Kiba barked back as did Akamaru. Naruto was about to scold Kiba until Haku raised his hand to the blonde and said, "It's alright. I understand that I won't be able to get forgiveness from you so I've decided to earn it by helping you out in anyway I can."

Kakashi and Kurenai both looked at each other and saw the predicament of the team as they were in bad shape. Kurenai then nodded as one of the thugs shouted, "Hey, he killed our meal ticket. Let's rough up these guys for payback!"

The mob shouted in glee as the joint team plus Haku stood their ground until an arrow landed at the feet of the mob. The team looked back to see Inari with the villagers as the young boy reloaded his crossbow and said, "Reinforcements are here so don't sweat!"

Naruto smiled back as he made a fox grin and stepped up closer to the now fearful mob and shouted, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

Several clones appeared which of course scared the mob even further.

"Just a little more pushing and it'll be all over. **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** Kakashi said as he made more clones and completely scared the mob off. The villagers rejoiced as did the team seeing that the mob ran off.

"We may be free from Gato's tyranny but we need to finish this bridge." Tazuna said to the team.

"C'mon! We just saved your asses and we got to work on the bridge? We still have wounded people here." Naruto complained.

Tazuna smiled as he said, "Who said you guys have to work? The heroes of Wave need rest and relaxation as well as medical attention. We'll take the super jobs from here."

Naruto exclaimed as the rest of the team sweatdropped.

"After all that fighting he still has the stamina to leap around like that?" Haku asked the team.

Hinata then replied to him, "Naruto-kun is always energetic so it's not very unusual for us. But what will you do now Haku-san?"

Haku then smiled as he said, "Like I said, I will earn my apology by helping you guys in anyway possible. I've decided to head back to Konoha with you so that I can become an official shinobi and maybe make a living in Konoha. But first, I will give Zabuza-san a proper burial."

With that, Haku took Zabuza's body and left for the burial while the rest of the team trugged back home for some well deserved rest as they retired for the night to recuperate and help out with the work for the bridge's completion the following days. For the young blonde however, it was a completely different story.

As the moon shone above the beehive abode that was once Gato's lair, a shadow of a young lad nearing his teen years with a hood on and crimson slit eyes that pierced into the darkness gazed upon the lair. He could smell the stench of men all around the lair and inside it as he made a wicked smile that revealed his fangs as he held a serrated sword in his right hand and begun making handseals in his left.

When he had finished making his handseals, his tenant then smirked and told him, **so it came down to this. Carnage is most beautiful at night. But I'm surprised you would turn to extermination as an answer.**

"It's the only way to keep them free from seedy influences for at least a couple more years. Those years of peace and prosperity are needed for them to live as a country. If you will excuse me…**Makyoton, Makai no Shimon!"**

Suddenly, a dark aura began to flood the premises of the beehive buildings. Many rent-a-thugs and ronins patrolling the buildings both inside and out began to feel a cold chill down their spines as the darkness enshrouded the area as it numbed their senses. They fell for the genjutsu perfectly as Naruto **Shunpo'd **to the top of the highest of the hives and made a one-handed seal that allowed two more bunshins to appear as the each blurred to the top of the hives and the three blondes made simultaneous set of handseals and then said, "**Makyoton, Kage Kitsune no Shura**…"

Many of the guards were unaware of what was happening as the nin who had fell into the water earlier was busy inside the complex writing a letter as he said to himself, "Kuso! The Kyuubi vessel is actually here. How could I have not seen this. Damn bastard had to make me station here."

A ronin then entered the room where the nin was and said, "Hajima-san! There's a strange red light engulfing the place!"

Hajima then grumpily walked out the room and looked around and indeed an eerie red light flooded the three complex buildings.

"What the hell is going on here? Why isn't anyone noticing this? And what's that cold feeling that I'm getting?" Hajima said. Completely puzzled and perplexed.

Naruto smiled as he saw his jutsus taking effect before speaking out, "Toboe."

The shadows of every nin exposed to the light began to change shape as it materialized out of the ground into a wicked fox head made of shadows with six slitted, crimson eyes devoured their masters from head to toe. 

Chaos and blood spilled all over the place as the ronins and thugs ran for their lives but found it hopeless as they could not leave the area because of a special barrier that sent them back into the compound every time they tried to escape and those who were under the ominous red light were devoured by their own shadows. Hajima was horrified by what he saw as an arm from a nin just above his floor fell to the ground as the bloody part twitched slightly before dying completely as the red water flowed out of the torn muscle and protruding bone. The nin named Hajima could not take it any longer and ran back into the compound hoping for safety.

Screams rang through the night as the young blonde made another set of handseals along with his clones as they simultaneously shouted, "**Makyoton, Shura no Inu!**"

The blood of the dead began to take shape as the red light singed it and the red water rose from its place and shaped into a three-headed dog of crimson eyes and black fur.

Naruto then telepathically commanded his subordinates who complied as the dogs traveled through the shadows and into the complex where most have taken shelter.

"What the hell happened out there?" a large ronin said to his panicked lackeys.

"We don't know sir! Anyone who was under that red light suddenly got eaten by their own shadow." The lackeys replied.

The large ronin didn't believe it for a second until a three-headed dog appeared from the shadows and attacked them. They screamed and fought for their lives but were consumed by the dog. And with every victim the dogs consumed, more would spawn from the spilled blood of the dead men.

The original young blonde could smell an overwhelming aroma of metal as the crimson colored paint flowed from every man that was in these complexes of the underworld. 

It wasn't long before his clones dispersed themselves as the young blonde said, "So he's in the main building. I better pay him a visit."

The young blonde then **Shunpo'd** his way into the complex and right behind the nin named Hajima. The nin was far too scared to respond until he felt a serrated blade close to his neck as Naruto said, "If you say anything other than what I ask of you, then I will feed you to the dogs wating outside. Everyone in this area has been exterminated. Only you, me, and my pets are here. Is that understood?"

The man nodded as he fell to his knees while Naruto began the interrogation.

"So how many members do the Akatsuki have and who are they? What is their purpose and objective? Where are they hiding?" the young blonde coldly asked.

The nin flinched and tried to turn his head until Naruto stabbed his sword into the man's arm and twisted it and yanked the sword out. Because of the blade's unique shape, the method was most horrendously bloody. The man screamed, and writhes in pain as he rolled around in the floor while blood gushed out of his now limp arm.

"Akatsuki has ten members! One left the group but there has been a replacement and one intern!" Hajima quickly said.

"Anything else?" Naruto asked as he cleaned his sword with a napkin from his pocket. 

The nin didn't respond. The young blonde then took out his kunai from his sleeve and coated it in alcohol and stabbed the kunai into the man's left thigh as he pulled the kunai down and made a deep opening. The man screamed again from the pain of the alcohol dipped kunai as it burned his skin.

"THEY'RE SUPER S-CLASS MISSING NINS! THEY WISH TO CONQUER THE WORLD OR SOMETHING. I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY'RE HIDING!" Hajima screamed out.

As the interrogation goes along, the man finally gave in and spilled everything. Naruto knew that some of the info was fake since he knew from his past life some of the Akatsuki that have come looking for him.

"Thank you for the info. But sadly you lied to me as well so I have to punish you." Naruto said as he stared his crimson slit eyes into the man's soul as he took some wire and stripped the man of his now bloody clothing off his bloody and beat up body, as he tied one end of the string to a pole just outside the balcony and the other end to his genitals as he threw him over the balcony and left him to hang by his privates until the wire cuts them off.

With Naruto's work done, he **Shunpo'd **out of the area and back to the shore where Ichigo waited for him.

"So did you take care of things here?" Ichigo asked him as the young blonde put down his hood and his fangs and claws reverted back as his eyes became the flaming azure ones once again. The young blonde nodded before bidding him goodnight as he retired for the night without anyone noticing he had left.

A battle was won but the war wasn't over. Some were predators in the war while others were prey. And for the young blonde, many would become the predator's prey.

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Finally! It's done after many weeks! I'm back in the game and I'll make up for lost time! Really I will. I hope you guys like the chapter. I put a lot of effort here and I'm beat. Thanks and Ja ne!

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**Makyoton, Makai no Shimon(Demonic release, Netherworld Gate of Death)-** a powerful genjutsu that requires youkai and a full moon to activate. All those locked into the genjutsu cannot escape the psychic barrier through physical means. All those caught in the genjutsu have their senses numbed and their movements become sluggish to a near drunken state unless attacked. 

**Makyoton, Kage Kitsune no Shura(Demonic release, Carnage of the Shadow Fox)- **a ninjutsu formed from the genjutsu of Makai no Shimon. Requires Makai no Shimon to be active first. Once the handseals are performed and the name of the jutsu is uttered, the user must also utter Toboe or howl as the activation of the technique. Once activated, the opponent's shadow materializes into a fox head of shadow that consumes the opponent.

**Makyoton, Shura no Inu(Demonic release, Dogs of Carnage)- **A ninjutsu that require's youkai and a full moon to activate. Three-headed dogs made of blood are spawned and the user can command them telepathically as long as they are within the range of the user in a twenty mile radius. Every time a dog kills an opponent, more are spawned from the slain foe. Will last as long as the user keeps them around or the moonlight fades or lack of youkai.


	19. Truth and Consequences

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: I got a lot of criticism and thank Kami for all the errors they pointed out. I am so grateful for your help in pointing out my many mistakes in my fic. It looks like I have a long way to go and I seriously need a beta since I can't really proofread them myself. I am currently cursing myself for my incompetence. Anyway, Naruto will finally have some explaining to do to old Sarutobi and Sasuke will get the night of a lifetime.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 19**

_**Truth and Consequences**_

As daylight breaks through…

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With the bridge finally repaired, the joint team plus Haku was packed up and ready to depart back to Konoha. The team was on the other end of the said bridge as they began to bid their goodbyes to the very grateful people of Wave.

"We've completed the bridge thanks to you, but we're going to miss you." Tazuna said to the ready joint team.

"Be well." Tsunami added to express the emotions of the entire crowd gathered.

"Thank you for everything. We are very grateful for what you did for our team." Kurenai stated as she bowed in respect, as did the rest of the joint team.

Naruto then made a genuine smile to the villagers as he said, "Now, now, Tazuna-oji-san, we'll visit you again one day."

The young blonde's words made the villagers grateful even more knowing that their heroes would come back one day. However, Inari couldn't stand the idea of Naruto leaving after what he did for them. Especially since the young blonde was the savior of both Inari and his mother's lives.

The young boy cried as he clutched the swords that Naruto gave him with all his might. Naruto knew that Inari was sad that he was leaving, but he had many tasks to accomplish so it would not be possible for him to stay any longer.

Inari then gazed his teary eyes at the young blonde and said, "Promise?"

Tazuna could feel the young lads swelled heart as he placed his hand upon Inari's head. Naruto as well felt the young lad's emotions and smiled at him.

"It's a promise Inari. But when we do meet again, I want you to stop crying and see how strong you've gotten with those swords." Naruto said to the young lad as he gave him a foxy grin and the nice guy pose.

Kiba then scratched his head and faced the blonde. "The little guy can barely hold one and you expect him to be able to use two?"

Haku then joined in the small talk as he smiled and faced Kiba. "Well, he is still a kid. And the best way to get stronger is when you start early so that you can be the best at what you wield." Haku then gripped the handle of his Zanbato and said, "Maybe I should give him Zabuza's sword instead. What do you think?"

All of them shook their heads as Inari shouted at Haku, "No way! I only accept Naruto-nii-san's gifts! And besides, there's no way I can even lift that thing you call a sword! You have to be a monster to even lift it."

Sasuke smirked as he turned on his heel and replied, "I agree." The young Uchiha then took two steps and turned his head around to face the team. "I'd like to get to the checkpoint before sunset."

Kakashi nodded as he said, "Alright, lets go. I need to buy a new copy of my book as well so let's pick up the pace."

Kurenai frowned as Sakura moved closer to Sasuke's side. The raven-haired boy paid it no heed as the team followed suit while waving good-bye to the villagers. Haku took one last look at the village before he finally turned around and joined the team.

'_Zabuza-san…I'm finally living my life on my own. I now have the right to choose. When we meet again, I'll tell you all of my adventures and the fascinating life you have given me.'_ The young bishounen thought as he walked in the sunlight wit the rest of the joint team.

As the shinobis marched off into the distance, Tazuna gazed upon the emblem of the young blonde's jacket and smiled. "That boy changed Inari's heart and Inari changed the hearts of the people." Tazuna said to the villagers while never leaving his gaze from the symbol on Naruto's back.

"That boy created a bridge, known as courage, which led to hope." Tazuna said as he wiped a tear streaming from his eye as Inari began wiping his.

With the mention of the bridge, one of the villagers then said, "Bridge…oh yeah! We have to name this bridge too."

Inari then pulled out his sword and pointed it at the top of the gateway of the bridge.

With a newfound confidence, he then said, "Let's name this bridge, the Great Naruto Bridge."

The villagers agreed as the joint team marched out of their line of sight into the great unknown.

As the joint team traveled through the bridge, Naruto then placed his hands behind his head and made a foxy grin.

"All right! Once I get home, I'm going to have Iruka-sensei treat me to ramen to celebrate the completion of this mission." The young blonde said as he laughed at the thought of seeing Iruka broke due to his large appetite.

Hinata shook her head as she said, "I don't think it would be wise to do that. He might make you pay back all the money since now you are able to as a genin."

Kurenai chuckled as she saw Naruto frown. "Hinata is right Naruto. Lately Iruka has been complaining about the large debt he has because of your stomach. With the pay your getting from this mission and the four missing nins you've killed, I think it would pay up most of his expenses for all the treats you get from him." Kurenai said as Sakura nodded in delight.

Kiba began laughing as he said, "Wow. At twelve years old you have the debt of a middle-aged man all because of ramen! What's next, an early mid-life crisis?"

Naruto frowned even further as he replied, "Alright already! Sheesh. You make it sound like I'm a thug of some gang boss."

Sasuke smirked as he replied, "With the way you act and fought, I can't see you so far from being one."

Naruto was pissed as he gazed at the young Uchiha with hate and shouted, "Kuso! Take that back teme! Or else I'll tell everyone…" Naruto's expression changed into one of deviousness making Sasuke shiver in fear as a cold sweat began forming upon their heads.

"Who you have a crush on." The young blonde finished causing Sakura to blush as she quickly approached Naruto and grabbed him by the collar as she went into Tsunade mode.

"**OI! TELL ME WHO IT IS OR I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!"** Sakura screamed as she shook him profusely before Hinata stepped in and held back Sakura as much as she could.

Naruto began rubbing his neck as he said, "Urgh…Man…cherry demon really suits you as a codename. And before you go on beating the shit out of me, I never said a specific gender."

Sasuke was extremely pissed this time as he shouted, "NARUTO!"

Naruto ran for his poor life as Sakura and Sasuke began chasing him down. Hinata followed suit to make sure her boyfriend wasn't going to get a very nasty bruise after as the rest lagging behind sweatdropped.

Haku just laughed as he said, "He really knows how to change the mood."

Shino then adjusted his shades in reply, which tickled the young bishounen's curiosity.

"By the way, why did you guys agree to allowing me to come with you? I didn't expect any of you to be this accepting." Haku said as he faced Shino.

Shino, as stoic as can be, then replied, "We aren't that accepting. But when you think about it, a shinobi of your caliber can be beneficial for Konoha in the long run. That and Naruto seems to trust you."

Haku was surprised by Shino's reply. Kiba however, still did not agree as did Kakashi and Kurenai who knew much better based on experience but tagged along with the idea for now since Naruto was the one who offered him a haven in the first place.

"You seem to regard that boy highly." Haku said as he saw Naruto being pummeled by Sakura in the distance.

Kiba then decided to speak out as he said, "That baka is still a baka no matter what you say. Sure he got lucky a few times but, he isn't all that. But it's just that you can't really hate him. That's all."

Haku shook his head as he replied, "I'm really sorry but I don't understand at all."

Kakashi, who had been paying attention the whole time, then looked up to the sky and replied, "That's the whole point. You really can't understand him. He's like the wind. Never in one place too long to fully understand. But the great thing about him is that he is the kind of person who can change people just by meeting them. That's his greatest strength that even he doesn't know of."

Haku pondered on Kakashi's words as he gazed at the young blonde who was being tended by Hinata as Sakura managed to pour out all of her frustration upon the young blonde as they continued their trek into the wilderness.

Dusk was setting in rather quickly while they brushed away the occasional twigs and branches that hindered them from reaching the checkpoint where they would spend the night once more.

Kakashi and Kurenai began unpacking the tents as Haku decided to help out and build the fire. Kiba decided to help out the young bishounen not out of courtesy, but rather out of necessity to make sure that he wasn't planning on anything devious during their time of rest. After all, what better way of defense than by keeping your friends close and your enemies even closer.

When the fire was built and the tents were standing erect, Kakashi took out the pot to once again make his stew. Of course, they all protested making Haku wonder why.

"Is there something wrong with Kakashi making dinner?" Haku asked of them.

Sakura crossed her arms in vexation as she grunted before replying, "Let's just say he's not the best cook in the world and we almost died of food poisoning."

Kakashi felt her words skewer his heart as he cried anime tears and said, "It's not that bad."

Despite Kakashi's dismay, they knew that there was only one other person aside from Hinata who could cook as they turned their heads to the young blonde who quickly got the point.

"But why me? How bout Hinata-chan? She can cook too!" the young blonde complained.

Hinata, without shifting her gaze from him, began poking her two index fingers together as she said, "I barely know how to cook food aside from onigiri. And besides, what better person to cook than someone who has experience cooking."

The Hyuuga heiress smiled and blushed causing the young blonde's resolve to wane as he finally gave in. "Alright I'll cook. But you better take notes this time so you can cook it yourself." The young blonde said causing Hinata to nod in response as she began taking out the food from her bag and a small notebook and pen.

Kakashi took the hint rather well as he stood up and said, "Well, it will take a while before the food's ready. Haku and Kiba, you guys take the first shift." The two boys nodded as Haku went ahead with Kiba following suit to the roadside to keep watch.

Kakashi then turned to Kurenai and Sakura and said, "How bout you two grab some water from the nearby lake. We're pretty low on water." The two kunoichis understood as they took out everyone's canteens and headed to the lake just southwest of their location.

"So what do we do?" Sasuke blurted out lazily as Naruto and Hinata began preparations.

Naruto then turned to the two other genins and said, "I'm gonna need some mushrooms. You think you can get some for me?"

Shino decided to take that task as he left to forage for the much needed food. Sasuke decided just to sleep lazily in his tent while waiting for the meal. Kakashi however decided to bring out his camera once more as more devious thoughts came to mind when he saw the young couple preparing the meal.

It was awkward for the both of them, but they very much enjoyed cooking together as Naruto held Hinata's hands to cut the vegetables the proper way as well as help her with the mixing of the soup as the water boiled.

Hinata was blushing the whole time while Naruto, aware, yet outwardly unaware of his actions, was responsible for the red complexion of the lavender-eyed girl. But he loved holding her small, soft hands as she began to do most of the cooking.

Just as the moment got sweeter, Shino arrived with the mushrooms in his hands as he placed them upon the makeshift cutting board for Naruto to work with. The young blonde nodded to the bug user as Shino excused himself and entered one of the tents.

"Alright Hinata-chan, let's begin boiling the soup." The young blonde said as he poured the minced vegetables and mushrooms into the pot. Hinata decided to watch the pot as Naruto took out some paper from his sack before placing the sack back in his tent and forming makeshift bowls out of the paper in his hands. The lavender-eyed girl was curious as to what he was planning this time.

Deciding that it was probably just another step in cooking, she took note of it as she opened the lid to see the lye erupt from the now opened pot.

"Na-Naruto-kun! The pot is full of lye!" the panicked Hinata said.

Naruto then took out several paper bowls and placed the soup stock into the paper bowls and began boiling them once more as he said, "Don't worry about the food. When you cook that much vegetables at once, you end up with lye. That's why I have these paper bowls so that I can remove the lye. Look."

Hinata and Kakashi, who also was silently taking notes to make up for his terrible culinary skills, were amazed to see that the lye disappeared leaving crystal clear water that you can clearly see the food boiling in it as Naruto changed the bowls every few minutes.

Hinata smiled even brighter as she said, "That's amazing Naruto-kun! Where did you learn this?"

The young blonde faced her and scratched his head as he said, "Like I said last time, it's from the cookbook I found. Here, why don't you have it?" The young blonde then handed the cookbook from his pocket to her as he discreetly whispered into her ear, "It's my mom's cookbook that Ichigo gave me the other day. Please take care of it."

Hinata's eyes widened as she backed away a step while holding the book close to her chest. "But, it's your book. Are you ok with this?"

Naruto made a charming smile as he said, "It's alright. Compared to me, you're a better cook. And I'd love to eat your cooking one day so get better at it ok?"

Hinata blushed even more at that as she let out a small gasp. Kakashi's visible eye became a u shape as he placed his hand on his mask-covered mouth and giggled like a little girl at the lavender-eyed girl's reaction.

Hinata was embarrassed at the idea of Naruto eating her hand prepared meals but nonetheless felt compelled to give out her best knowing that she had a goal to reach.

She placed the cookbook near her rucksack and faced the young blonde. She then rolled up her right sleeve and raised her right arm as she placed her left hand over her now bare right arm. With determination in her eyes, she then said to him, "Hai! Leave it to me. I'll do my best!"

Confidence emanated from her voice that took Naruto aback for an instant before he placed his hands behind his head and smiling. "Yosh! I'll look forward to it! I better go and tell everyone the food's ready."

And so, the young blonde ran out to look for the other members of the joint team as Hinata rolled up her other sleeve and began the final preparations to cook the meal.

Her determination was unfaltering as she kept focus of her task not knowing Kakashi was just right behind her until he was close enough for her to feel his presence as she leaped out of shock before grabbing the pot she accidentally threw in the air along with all the contents of it as it landed back in the pot in her hand. Kakashi clapped as he said, "We're pretty determined tonight eh, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata blushed as she prepared the food for the team and replied, "I-I guess s-so."

Kakashi began to giggle some more as he helped her pour the food into the pots. Seeing the happy expression on her face, he decided to tease her even more.

"With food this good, I'm sure everyone will be happy to eat. I'm jealous that Naruto has a wife that's this good at cooking." Kakashi said trying to sound envious.

Hinata began to fumble as her face became crimson in color as she thought, _'Me? Naruto-kun's wife? Kami-sama…I'm speechless…'_

Kakashi could see that she was ready to faint and was about to catch her until they heard the team return which snapped Hinata out of her trance as Sasuke and Shino crawled out of their tents and could sniff the wonderful aroma of the soup as Hinata smiled at them and said, "Welcome back everyone. The food is ready."

Kakashi then decided to make Hinata even more embarrassed as he said to the lavender-eyed girl, "You're even sounding like a wife welcoming home her husband. Are you sure you're not married yet?"

Hinata blushed even more as she bowed her head down to hide her red face.

Kurenai then said, "It looks good and smells good too. It was definitely better that you and Naruto cooked the food instead."

Naruto placed his hands behind his head and smiled at that comment. Hinata too felt elated about the comment and blushed into a faint pink as she gave them a loving smile and said, "Arigato. We greatly appreciate your thanks. Let's eat our dinner before it gets cold."

Kiba and Akamaru gazed at the soup with hunger in their eyes. They lost control of their inhibitions and restraints as the smell of the soup tingled their noses. "Yahoo! There's vegetables, shrimp, and mushrooms. Itadakimasu!" the dog boy and his companion began devouring the soup with haste.

Sakura pouted and sighed seeing Kiba's lack of manners as she huddled closer to Sasuke and said to him, "Sasuke-kun, How about I feed you. We can share the food and you wouldn't have to be so tired of using your arms." She smiled as she took some into her spoon to feed Sasuke.

The raven-haired boy then left her side and took his bowl and moved to another side causing her to cry anime tears as he ate alone.

Haku stared into the bowl with worry until Naruto placed his hand upon his shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry. There's no poison in it so eat up!"

Haku nodded and said, "Itadakimasu." The moment the soup entered his mouth he blushed and exhaled in delight as he said, "Wow! This is the best food I have ever tasted in my entire life."

Naruto was happy seeing him devour his food without hesitation the same way everyone else did around the fire. But when he saw Hinata eat the soup heartily, he blushed slightly as he returned to eating his meal and feeding Kohaku, who was perched in his hood, every now and then.

Despite the happy mood that passed around the fire, many thoughts were running through their minds as they ate.

'_I still don't trust the guy. What the hell's going on in that thick skull of his? Allowing the enemy to join us on the way home.'_ Kiba thought as he finished his meal.

Kakashi kept a steady gaze at Haku as he thought, _'this is still too risky even for us. Having Haku along isn't exactly wise, but Naruto has been acting differently. Then again, maybe this is how he normally acts. I really need to ask him about a lot of things but we'll save that for when we get back.'_

Kurenai also was wary of the ex-mist nin as she thought, _'I see now what Kakashi means when Naruto is unpredictable. Taking along the enemy is a dangerous choice even if it is for the good of Konoha. But Naruto doesn't seem like the type of person to do unnecessary things. Even his pranks have some sort of good reason for it so we can just be patient for now.'_

Instead of eyeing Haku like most of them, Shino was eyeing Naruto as he thought, _'Naruto is definitely different. He's been very subtle about many things but something was odd with the way he acts. He's been more serious and everything he does seems to have a purpose behind it. I've never seen him act this way back in the academy. And lately, he's also taken an interest in Hinata.'_

Sakura began pouting as she thought, _'Sasuke-kun is becoming colder than before. Maybe it's because he's not interested in me and in someone else.'_ She began to swallow as the thought panicked her heart. _'Could it be that Naruto is right? And if he is, how does he know? And who is it?'_

Sasuke ate his fill while keeping a steady gaze between Naruto and Haku. His normally levelheaded mind was now disturbed by the new revelations concerning the blonde. Sure he still was foolish in many ways, but as the young Uchiha spent time with him, he realized so many 'unNaruto-like' qualities of the young blonde. His pranks always held a reason behind it and he has this aura of mystery around him because he spends most of his time alone.

'_I don't get it. When he's not fighting, he's a baka who loves ramen and making pranks. But the moment we take our eyes off him, he's just unpredictable. But when he gets into a fight, he's…deadly and unflinching. What's up with him?' _Sasuke thought as he focused his gaze upon the young blonde.

Naruto sweatdropped as he realized how much suspicion he's raised among his team.

Hinata on the other hand, blushed as she gazed upon Naruto. When the young blonde saw her loving gaze upon him, he sighed in relief knowing that everything was going to be all right one way or another. He had achieved so much in his life so something as minor as this did not compare to the amount of blessings he gained in return.

The young blonde smiled back at his girl before asking around, "So how did you like the meal?"

"It's really good Naruto-kun." Hinata said, as she blushed even more. "I really love your cooking." The lavender-eyed girl replied as she smiled.

Naruto scratched his head and blushed as he said, "I'm not that good."

Haku smiled in delight as he said, "I may not be a gourmet, but your cooking is great!"

Sakura then decided to pitch in her thoughts as she said, "I still can't believe you're a better cook than me. Gosh it's irritating." The pink haired girl then sighed in vexation to emphasize her feelings at that moment.

As the fire began to wane, the young blonde cleaned and packed up the bowls and cooking utensils as the rest of the team went into their respective tents to call it a night leaving only Naruto and Hinata, who also helped him pack up, to clean the mess while Kakashi and Kurenai took the next shift.

As they packed up the pots and cleaned the utensils, their hands would occasionally touch making them blush and laugh as Hinata said to him, "I'm really happy that I got to be with you kitsune. But I really wish I could have helped out more during the mission. I was almost useless."

Naruto then lifted her downcast face as he quickly gave her a kiss. She was embarrassed to say the least as he forced entry of his tongue in her mouth. She felt his tongue enter deep and tickle her own as she played along with the same vigor and wrapped her arms around his head to deepen the kiss if only for a moment. He pulled away rather quickly since he knew not who was watching aside from his tenant and Ichigo who he could feel blush every time he saw their intimate romantic moments together with his love.

The Hyuuga heiress was shocked to say the least as Naruto brushed aside some of her hair behind her ears and with love emanating in his voice, then said, "It really doesn't matter to me if the things you can do for me are small and insignificant. Your feelings are more important for me. And I'm happy that you are trying so please remember that I love you for who you are and not what you do."

Hinata brightened up even more as she wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug that he also returned. She then said to him, "Arigato kitsune. I will always love you for who you are as well and will always have. But I still want to be able to fight alongside you."

He then let go of his embrace and gently took a hold of her face, causing her to blush and gazed his azure eyes into her lavender ones and said, "That's a good ambition Hina-hime. If you work hard at it, I'm sure you can achieve it. Gambate…Hina-hime. Your fire in your heart is like a wild dragon. And I'm glad I can have such a beautiful one too."

Hinata looked down as she nervously poked her fingers once more while a shade of crimson painted her face as she thought, _'Me? A powerful dragon? I find that hard to believe. I am the complete opposite of one. But Naruto is just being nice to me. And he's so romantic when he's nice to me. If only we were older, I would have given myself to him already…' _Hinata's face became even redder as her thoughts suddenly took a turn in another direction. _'Wait! What are you thinking Hinata?'_

Kakashi on the other hand, wasn't ready to sleep yet as he silently captured the sweet moments on his camera from his perched position at the lookout point where Kurenai was already asleep from exhaustion.

"Oh, well. I can't read my book, but I have plenty of blackmail material in exchange." The white-haired jounin said to himsef as Hinata gave Naruto a goodnight kiss and entered the tent of Sakura.

Naruto had a feeling that something was not right until he saw Hinata carrying Sakura bridal style with a smile on her face.

"A-are you planning what I think you are?" Naruto softly asked of his love. Hinata nodded making Naruto smile deviously as he opened Sasuke's tent allowing Hinata to place Sakura next to the young Uchiha.

Naruto chuckled silently as he said to Hinata, "Payback eh? I never expected you to pull something off like this. What else is new about you?"

Hinata then smiled as she pulled down Sasuke's shorts and turned over Sakura so her back faced the ceiling and then turned Sasuke over on top of her. Naruto got the idea as he placed Sasuke's hands inside Sakura's red dress and an alarm clock next to the young Uchiha.

The two deviants chuckled as they left the tent and Hinata bid him goodnight once more and entered Kurenai's tent. Luckily for Naruto, the two jounins had come just before Naruto was about to enter his tent.

"Oh, Naruto. You're still up." Kakashi said causing Naruto to face him. "I forgot to tell the team the watch arrangement so if you're not too tired, can you take the next one?" the one-eyed jounin said as Kurenai entered her tent.

The young blonde nodded in acknowledgement and told Kakashi, "Alright. But Sasuke is still pretty worn out so him and Sakura should take the last watch."

Kakashi agreed and entered the raven-haired boy's tent and took some more pictures before changing the alarm on the alarm clock as he thought, _'Hehehe. Jiraya-sama would be proud of the way Naruto thinks.'_

The one-eyed jounin then woke up Shino and Shino joined Naruto for the watch as Kakashi slept peacefully.

Naruto and Shino took the watch pretty well as the young blonde sat upon the tree branch and read his black book while Shino kept a wary eye of the surroundings until their tired bodies gave way and slept through the entire watch leaving the rise of dawn to urge and caress their bodies into awakening. However, the normally quiet mornings would be a bit more rowdy this time as the alarm clock in Sasuke's tent rang, alarming the pink haired girl to wake up. She was still sleepy and groped her surroundings until she felt something she wasn't supposed to feel.

'_What the hell is this thing? It feels…weird.'_ The pink haired girl thought as her left hand grasped the object with curiosity and then groped around some more and finally hit the alarm clock buzzer. She sighed in content knowing the sound finally died. But as her consciousness was waking up, she got the feeling that she was in another awkward position as she felt the floor on her back expand and contract as well as a warmth in her stomach. She sat up and rubbed her eyes as the light finally shone on her face from the open tent. By now, consciousness finally hit her as she saw Haku just outside the tent with a deep blush on his face.

'_Don't tell me!'_ The pink haired girl thought, as she finally understood her situation. To Haku's eyes, it was…. different. He woke up early to wake up Sakura for the next shift. When he entered the tent, he saw Sakura on top of Sasuke with Sasuke's hands on her hips as his legs were in between hers as his shorts were pulled down revealing his striped boxers and a throbbing…well, lets just say throbbing lump.

Sakura looked at what she was sitting on and a deep blush formed on her face as she saw his hands on her hips and felt the tip of his lump touch her crotch area as she looked back at Haku with wide eyes.

"G-go-gomenasai! I was going to wake you up f-for the next watch but you-re still busy so…I'll take my leave!" the blushing Haku said as he left the tent.

Sakura panicked and tried to stand up but Sasuke's grip was strong making her fall down on her chest as her butt stuck out with Sasuke falling on top of her as she shouted to Haku, "Wait! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

Her words woke up everyone in the area as Kurenai, Kiba and Kakashi rushed to the scene with Sasuke waking up just in time to see another awkward position that he was in and a very, very wrathful Kurenai as Sakura blushed even more than before.

'_Oh, shit. Here we go again.'_ Sasuke thought as Kakashi began creeping away again only to get pummeled hard by Kurenai as his and Sasuke's wails of agony and girlish screams shook the forest making the birds fly off in fright while the sound woke up Naruto and Shino.

"Sounds like they're up already." Naruto said as he stretched to get blood flowing in his limbs while the two watched Sasuke being put in a headlock and getting the beating of his life while Kakashi was strung up upside down in a tree branch with bruises on his face as Haku and Kiba looked on in horror.

Naruto was a little worried that things were taking a turn for the worst as he faced Shino and asked him, "Should we help them out?"

The stoic bug user turned to face the young blonde for only a moment before watching the scene once again as Kurenai began beating Kakashi's private area with his camera and burning it once again making Kakashi cry.

Naruto got the point as they waited a couple more minutes before they trekked once again towards Konoha. Everyone was several feet away from Kurenai while Sakura had a blush on her face but still stayed beside the beat up and swollen-faced Uchiha while Kakashi lagged behind the rest of the team holding his crotch and brusied and battered face.

Hinata giggled inwardly as did Naruto when they saw Haku, Kiba and Shino hold their privates in fear of their sensei as the team leaped from tree branch to branch.

Since Tazuna was no longer with them, they were able to move much quicker than usual and reached the gates of Konoha in a matter of hours. The guards that waited at their posts near the gate had wide-eyed expressions as they saw the badly beaten Kakashi and Sasuke along with a furious Kurenai and the rest of the joint team a few feet away from the crimson-eyed jounin. The two guards swallowed hard knowing things didn't go well.

When the team entered the academy to give their report to the sandaime, the old leader was shocked to see the state of Kakashi and Sasuke. But when he saw the several veins throbbing on Kurenai's forehead, he sighed and began puffing on his pipe.

"I think I can say that the mission was successful, no?" Sarutobi said to them.

Naruto stepped up and smiled as he said, "Everything went nice and dandy!"

The old hokage nodded seeing the smiling expression of the young blonde. But as he gazed at team, he noticed a longhaired youth hiding behind Kakashi. When he looked back at Naruto, he could see that the young blonde was a bit nervous as the young blonde glanced at the youth and back at him, the old hokage, who could decide the fate of the youth.

"So who is the guy hiding behind you Kakashi? I'm sure there were seven going to Wave yet the same number came back." Sarutobi asked of the white haired jounin.

The team stepped aside as Haku stepped forward and bowed. "I am Momochi Haku, Hokage-sama. I would wish to join the ranks of the leaf to atone for my sins and hopefully make a living here."

The sandaime looked at Kakashi and Kurenai for an explanation. The two jounins just looked at Naruto making the young blonde nervous when the sandaime eyed him.

"Well, I guess we have a lot to talk about this afternoon." Sarutobi said with a smile.

"Since there is much to talk about, the rest are excused except for Naruto, Kakashi and Haku." The old hokage told them as he puffed on his pipe once more. Kiba yawned and left along with Shino. Kurenai then left with Hinata to escort her back to her house much to the Hyuuga heiress' dismay.

Sasuke then turned on his heel as Sakura gazed at his back before Sasuke turned his head to Sakura and said, "Are you coming or what?"

The pink-haired girl was surprised by what she just heard. Her face brightened up as she blushed and said, "Y-you're e-e-escorting me home?" stars begun to light up her eyes as she held her two hands together close to her chest.

Sasuke turned his head back and sweatdropped. "Only until the corner. Let's go."

Sakura then tailed Sasuke like a lost puppy while the raven-haired boy kept inwardly beating himself for making such a stupid decision.

Naruto chuckled seeing that his plan worked nicely. Though, it was Hinata's prank in the first place.

The sandaime then cleared his throat to grab their attention allowing Kakashi to give the report of the mission. Overall, Sarutobi was surprised by what he heard. He expected that things would go wrong since normally they did despite being such rare occasions of missions suddenly changing in rank. But what he never expected was that Naruto was showing to be capable in so many ways than he could've imagined that it began to ponder on his mind what was going on with the young blonde.

The sandaime squarely looked at the young blonde and smiled. "I see. So that's what happened. And now Haku wishes sanctuary in Konoha. But I'm afraid the council will not like this since outsiders aren't normally accepted into Konoha for security reasons but I'll see what I can do."

Naruto and Haku both brightened up knowing that things were going to be all right.

"By the way Kakashi," the sandaime said causing the trio to pay close attention. "If by any chance that Haku is permitted into Konoha, which is likely because of his bloodline despite arguments, what rank do you think he should get?"

Kakashi pondered for a moment before finally giving his answer. "I suppose with his skills and experience I'd say chuunin."

"What do you think Haku?" the sandaime asked of the bishounen.

Haku bowed politely indicating that he would humbly accept the offer.

The sandaime then began writing on a form and said to Haku, "In order to become officially accepted, we need to make up a story so that your existence is erased from the BINGO book permanently. Also you will need a new last name if you don't mind."

Haku then placed his chin on his right hand and his left arm to support his right. He pondered for a while before speaking. "Since Naruto did defeat me in battle, we can tweak the story to say that he killed me and confirmed I was dead and my body accidentally went downstream so there was no way to retrieve my head."

Naruto and the sandaime nodded in understanding that it was a sound story as Sarutobi handed out the application form to Haku and the form for his temporary residence to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, please escort Haku to the hotel he will be staying in for the meantime. I'm afraid all the good rooms are taken due to the upcoming events since we will be the host for the exams this year. But make sure he doesn't stray too far since the hotel he is in will be close to the red light district." The sandaime told Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded and escorted Haku out the door and to his hotel with hopes of getting a new copy of his book and the thought of the chuunin exams in mind.

Naruto still stayed in the room as he pulled out a chair close to the desk of Sarutobi as the sandaime sighed. _'His first real mission and already he killed so many men. Seven total if you include the fake story. This makes it five chuunins, and two ronins in his record. But the stench of blood smells muskier than that number.'_ The sandaime thought as he remembered the report of the mission.

Any experienced nin knows that the stench of blood forever remains on a person after they have killed. Even if you were to wash the physical smell, the spiritual smell remains and taints your aura permanently and the higher the body count, the stronger the stench. And Naruto reeks of blood as if he bathed in it making the sandaime worry about what really happened during that mission.

The old hokage gazed his eyes deep into the young blonde's azure ones to search for an answer as he asked him with seriousness, "How are you doing Naruto? Are you all right?"

The young blonde grinned and said, "I'm fine oji-san! And speaking of last names, can I change mine?"

'_Trying to change the subject. That's not a good sign.'_ The sandaime thought as he doused his pipe on the ashtray near his left side and took off his white coned hat with the kanji of fire on it as he rested his chin on his two hands as his elbows supported the weight of his head over the table.

"You know Naruto, a lot of people in this career go through what you go through. You can tell me how you feel. It's all right and I will listen with all ears. Your first kill can be very traumatizing." The sandaime said with worry in his heart.

Naruto just made a genuine smile and said, "Arigato oji-san. I'm glad I know that you care. But I'm fine with it. Speaking of which, you didn't answer my first question."

Perplexed by what Naruto said, the old hokage then replied, "But why would you want to change your last name? You don't like being an Uzumaki?"

The young blonde closed his eyes and said, "Not that I don't like it, but…I think another last name sounds cooler."

'_I guess he really is fine. But I really wished that he could really tell me what's going on. All this worrying is going to make my stay as the hokage much shorter if this keeps up.'_ Sarutobi thought as he then pulled out Naruto's form from the drawer and took out his pen. "So what last name do you want to put in Naruto?" the hokage asked after erasing Uzumaki on Naruto's profile.

'_This is it. I hope you can accept things oji-san. I don't have much time left and my affinity to wind just jumped a few levels again.'_ Naruto thought as he took a deep breath and said, "Namikaze."

The name struck deep in Sarutobi's heart as he dropped the pen out of instinct. He was beyond shocked as his wide-eyed expression showed on his face.

"That's a nice name Naruto. Where did you hear that? Or did you make it up?" the sandaime said trying to keep his cool though fearing the worst.

"I've known for a long time Sarutobi-oji-san. There's no point in hiding the truth anymore. I'm all grown up now and I'm not as dense as everyone claims me to be." The young blonde said with a mature aura emanating from him.

Sarutobi was even more shocked than ever. Naruto knew all this time making the old hokage even more worried than ever but happy that the young blonde knew the truth. But where he could have found out and how began to haunt the old hokage.

Before Sarutobi could say anymore, Naruto then continued as his face showed seriousness. "I'm sorry oji-san but what I'm about to tell you is top secret and mind boggling. Everything I will say to you must not leave this room or you will run the risk of mass panic. Everything I will say from now on is the truth that if you choose to accept will involve you in something much greater than our own village secrets and if you choose not to believe it I have permission to erase this conversation from your memory as if it never happened. Please hear me out."

Sarutobi was put in a bind. He knew that something was up but for it to be this grave meant serious business and Naruto was not one to kid around with something as serious as this. If he were to accept, then he could finally understand Naruto and what has been going on. But if he couldn't accept it, it would mean that the young blonde would do something that only he could see in his dreams.

"Alright Naruto, I accept. But I'm not sure about what you're talking about." The sandaime said, as he listened with all ears.

"Trust me. You'll understand in a while." The young blonde said before slowly, but surely explaining his story. It would take a while for Sarutobi to fully understand everything, but they have the whole afternoon to do so.

While the young blonde began conversing with the sandaime, Sakura was still actively following Sasuke. The pink haired girl didn't relent as the several embarrassing things that happened to them seemed to strengthen their relationship even more giving a spark of hope to the pink haired-girl.

Fed up with being followed, he then stopped and asked Sakura, "Why are you following me so much?"

Sakura blushed as she placed her hands behind her back and leaned on a lamppost. "Well, a couple of days ago, I…we…well…it kinda felt like we touched each other."

Sasuke then blushed as he remembered that morning. He felt it as well in his sleep and when he was forced to wake up. It reminded him of the things he read in his father's copy of _Icha Icha Paradise_.

Sasuke then looked away and said, "You don't need to apologize for that. It wasn't our fault in the first place."

Sakura smiled seeing the shy face of Sasuke.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot." The pink haired girl said as she looked through her rucksack and pulled out the infamous orange book and handed it to Sasuke.

"It's your book Sasuke. I forgot to return it." Sakura said as she handed the book to Sasuke making a few onlookers blush and chuckle while some began whispering to each other. The raven-haired boy was distressed and took the book and Sakura by the hand as he rushed toward the Uchiha Complex with haste.

He panted until they stopped right outside the gate of the Uchiha clan.

"I can't believe you did that right in front of all those people." Sasuke said to Sakura with an annoyed look in hi eye.

"Well it's not like you're not interested in stuff like this. But at least it's better than having an interest in guys or little kids." Sakura said with confidence and her hands at her hips. _**Yosha! Operation Sasuke Leverage for Love Success Shannaro!**_Inner Sakura yelled with her fist in the air.

Sasuke sighed knowing that she was right. But somehow he didn't feel elated since Naruto mentioned him knowing who it is the raven haired Uchiha's crush is and it worried him to no end because he knew that Sakura will be all over the subject.

"Ano, Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said, snapping Sasuke to attention. "Naruto said something about you liking someone."

Sasuke laughed and then replied, "You actually believe that baka?"

"But not everything he says is a lie. In fact, most of it is true." Sakura said defending her claim while pointing at the orange book in his hands.

Sasuke sweatdropped knowing she was right.

He gave her a smug smiled and said, "And what would you do if I did?"

Sakura held her breath as she tried to calm her beating heart that rose to her throat.

"So it is true." Sakura said to him.

Sasuke smirked seeing her surprised predicament. But Sakura smiled knowing that there was a chance for her after all since she could be the one he desires.

"That's good to know. I hope she makes you happy. Though I really want to know who it is." Sakura said, as Sasuke was about to enter the Uchiha complex when he saw his mother in the distance.

"Sasuke! How are you? How was your mission?" Mikoto asked of the raven-haired boy as she approached him.

Sasuke was about to greet her until he remembered that Sakura was with him. But it was too late for the young Uchiha since his mother was already there in front of him. She gave him a hug and ruffled his hair until she noticed the pink-haired girl behind him.

"Oh! I'm afraid we've never introduced ourselves." Mikoto said as she bowed in respect to the pink haired girl and continued. "I'm Mikoto Uchiha. Sasuke's mother."

Sakura was embarrassed and panicked as she bowed as well and said, "I'm-Sakura-Haruno. I-I'm pleased-to-meet-you!"

Sasuke sweatdropped again knowing he was in an embarrassing situation.

Mikoto then looked at the pink haired girl and smiled as she said, "Thank you very much for taking care of Sasuke. He's stubborn, but he can be nice at times."

"Okaa-san!" Sasuke exclaimed in distress since his mother obviously got the wrong idea.

Mikoto looked at Sasuke with disappointment as she said to him, "Sasuke-kun…you should have introduced to me your girlfriend the moment I spotted you two.

Sakura blushed, as did the raven-haired boy.

'_Do we really look like a couple?' _Sakura thought as she still was surprised by the older woman's comment.

Sasuke then desperately tried to clear up the misunderstanding. "Okaa-san! She's my teammate, not my girlfriend."

"Even so! You're just like your father…no manners at all." Mikoto retaliated. She then went over to Sakura and said, "Sasuke-kun never tells us much of his missions or his teammates. I made a lot of food tonight so I was wondering if you can join us for dinner."

Sakura then backed away and flailed her arms around and said, "No! I don't want to impose. And I still have to get back home and tell my mom about everything."

"I see. It's too bad. We were hoping to get to know Sasuke-kun's friends." Mikoto said understanding Sakura's situation.

"Looks like we have to go." Sasuke said as he turned on his heels and placed his hands in his pocket and began to walk.

Sakura followed suit but stopped halfway to bow to Mikoto and say, "It was nice meeting you."

Mikoto returned the greeting with a bow of her own as Sakura managed to catch up to Sasuke.

"Hey, don't just leave me all of a sudden. You don't have to be that rude." Sakura complained to the young Uchiha.

But Sasuke paid her no heed as they walked towards Sakura's house. Most of the time on the way to the pink-haired girl's home, Sakura kept on talking to Sasuke. Occasionally, Sasuke would respond back but for the most part it was Sakura who was speaking. She was happy to spend time alone with the young Uchiha but still wished to know about who has stolen his heart.

When they finally arrived at Sakura's home, Sasuke bid her goodnight and went on his way but still pondered upon Naruto and the last mission. It strangled his mind. He could not make any sense out of the so-called 'dobe' of the class.

It infuriated him that Naruto was so much better than him. But as he took a turn at the next corner, he saw the young blonde walking with his clones carrying several boxes that, judging from the expressions of the clones, quite heavy.

'_What's he doing out here by himself?' _The young Uchiha thought as he decided to tail the young blonde.

Sunset had settled in and Naruto had just finished talking to the sandaime about the truth. Though things did not always go as planned, everything went well. Naruto gave him the information bit by bit through the hours. He was hesitant at first, but with all the things he had witness Naruto perform, it wasn't just speculation anymore.

"Man, he really did forget everything. But at least now he's informed and we can begin planning for the chuunin exams." The original blonde said to his clones as they marched onward into the streets.

'_Chuunin exams? That's right…the chuunin exams are coming up. But what does that have to do with him? He may be good, but he's still nowhere near chuunin level.' _The young Uchiha thought as he continued tailing the blonde from a distance.

Naruto knew he was being followed since he could easily feel the young Uchiha's presence miles away. He decided to pay it no heed for the moment since eventually, his teammates will know after the chuunin exams about him traveling to the past and changing history.

The young blonde and his clones turned and passed through the alleys. They moved for quite a while but eventually reached their destination. It was a medium sized house. Not too big, but enough to house a family. Aside from the house, the yard was pretty large and much vegetation had over grown indicated by the tall grass and the several vines that clung on the black metal gate, the cement walls, and the house itself. The young blonde then whistled to his furry friend who then with his tail, handed out a silver key to the young blonde.

Naruto looked at the silver key as he remembered what the sandaime said during those last few minutes with him in the academy.

_Flashback_

_When the young blonde finally finished his story to the old hokage, Sarutobi was utterly stressed by the information given to him._

"_It still sounds unreal and farfetched but I'll try to believe everything Naruto." The old hokage said to the young blonde as he scratched his head in frustration._

"_I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. But Kami-sama's orders are absolute. And…I wanted to see Hinata-chan in a time were we can grow up together and get to know each other better." The young blonde said to him to relieve his stress even if only a little._

"_How sure are you that everything is going to be the same as before? Aren't there other repercussions aside from the release of the elemental gods?" Sarutobi asked as he crossed his arms in thought._

_The young blonde then replied, "We don't really know but so far, it's as Kami-sama told me. Kyuubi and I will be back in my old timeline and I would have all my old memories as well as my shinigami powers and my black notebook while Soul Society continues on as if nothing happens and the seal on the elemental gods will gradually break."_

"_So far yes. But just in case Naruto, we have to be prepared for the unexpected. But I'm glad you came up to me with this. At least I can prepare for the carnage to come." Sarutobi said as he removed a lock on one of his drawers allowing a piece of the flooring to pop open revealing a small scroll inside and a key._

_Naruto picked up the scroll and key and said, "So what's this? Is this the key to otou-san's house?"_

_Sarutobi nodded and said, "Yes it is. Although the scroll might already be useless for you, but maybe you'd like to read it and find out your father's feelings during the time of the attack. While you go and move in Minato's house, I'll be busy making the preparations as soon as possible. It won't be easy finding and excuse to get Tsunade here, but I will do what I can. Your bank account is still separate from your inheritance so I still need some time to find the account saved up for you. As for the name change, that's easy enough. But I can't guarantee that when the invasion starts, we will be able to spare any of the sand nins. And I can't send you alone to fight Orochimaru right away since it would raise unwanted attention that you seemed to have accumulated already."_

_Naruto nodded knowing full well how it would turn out. He knew he couldn't save everyone, but with his strength, he'll save those he can._

_The young blonde then bowed in respect and said, "Thank you oji-san. I'll take my leave now."_

_As the young blonde got up from his seat and turned around, Sarutobi then said, "Naruto," the young blonde halted for that second as he listened. "You don't have to take the weight of the world on your shoulders. You have friends and family who will help you if you allow them to. You already have a family and a wonderful girlfriend and many comrades at your aid so don't take everything on your own ok? Even heroes need someone to watch their backs."_

_The young blonde shed a tear as he looked back and smiled before using __**shunpo **__to vanish from sight, surprising Sarutobi out of his chair._

_End of Flashback_

The young blonde then grasped the key and opened the gate as the black gate screeched with its opening indicating the amount of rust accumulated over time.

"Finally! Can we get inside already?" one of the clones asked in frustration.

The troop of clones and the original entered the dusty and ill maintained estate as Naruto used the key once more and opened the front door to the house to let in the clones to unpack the stuff. Naruto then closed door behind him and locked it properly as he made another clone and placed a **henge** on it so it would look like a muscular drunken man.

The disguised clone then leaped out the nearby window and **shunpo'd **behind the young Uchiha. The plan was successful because Sasuke never noticed the presence of the clone until the man then placed his hand on the raven-haired boy's shoulder and said with an Austrian accent, "What are you doing here so late in the night gaki?"

Sasuke felt a spine tingling sensation down his spine and not a good one as he turned to face the man.

The man was over six feet tall. He wore a green, tattered muscle fit shirt that looked like a second skin on his vein showing, well built and defined muscles, brown pants with a black belt, combat boots, and had brown hair in a flat top cut, and green eyes deeply seated in his square face that had a blush on it from being drunk with the bottle of sake in his left hand as he knelt down and rung his left arm around Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke was too petrified to move let alone speak as his face became paler and felt disgusted with the stench of alcohol from the man's breath as the man eyed the young Uchiha wearily before looking at him with his chiseled face and smiling wildly as his blush became deeper.

The young Uchiha was even more terrified than before as the man then spoke, "I'm glad you came around. I've been broke since my last callboy retired this afternoon. But now that you're here, I can get my business rolling once again. My office is downtown where we can bring out your manliness and you can make money for me."

Did I say terrified? I meant to say utterly horrified as the man lifted him by the collar with his right hand and drank the bottle of sake with his left as he marched towards the red light district.

"Oi! Put me down! Do you know who I am?" Sasuke screamed at the man but could not hide the trembling of his body in fear of the man.

The man smiled even wider as he said, "An arrogant jerk. I love your type, very frisky and feisty. But my business comes first over my personal satisfaction. But if you fight me any more, then I won't be able to control myself and have my way with you right here in the streets."

The man began to chuckle darkly after he made his point causing Sasuke to shut up as he resigned to his fate knowing how strong the man was to carry him like that with ease.

Sasuke began to cry anime tears as he thought, _'I never thought it could end this way. It would have been better if it were Sakura who raped me instead of this guy. But I can't do anything anymore. He's too scary to even think of fighting back against. I feel so helpless.'_

The original Naruto laughed his way to the floor from the mental feedback he got from his disguised clone.

By the time his fit of laughter ended, he stood back up as he wiped a tear in his eye as his clones dispersed themselves to relay the newfound knowledge about the entire estate.

There was a master bedroom where his parents stayed, a few guestrooms below it, a small kitchen, a small warehouse/library filled with books and scrolls as well as a few stowed away weapons, two bathrooms, one for the personal use of the master, and one for the guests, and a nice living room with a small t.v. the yard however, was the most important place of the estate since it was the largest piece of land of that lot and contained a small forest in it as well as a few places to be used as a training ground.

Everything was complete and perfect for the young blonde. Although he needed an inside dojo for his other forms of training, it wouldn't be hard to construct since he had the time and funds for it.

"Looks like everything is settled. I have a room for you to stay in Ichigo." The young blonde said to the man waiting in the shadows of the house. The orange haired man then turned on the lights to the hallways and living room before responding to the young blonde's statement.

"Finally, a place to sleep in. thanks a lot Naruto. I got word that they're here already but are scattered all over the place. The nearest one to Konoha would be Youichi-san. But before the chuunin exams begin, they should be here." The strawberry named shinigami told him.

Naruto then replied, "Thanks Ichigo. I'm really glad you guys are helping me out. If you don't mind, can I have my GPS back? I need to use it."

Ichigo then handed the pink phone to Naruto and went to bed in one of the guestrooms.

The young blonde then traveled to the mini forest and was amazed by the beauty in showed during the night. The trees bathed in the splendor of the moonlight as fireflies glowed close to the roots. Many small animals lived in the forest but of all the animals, surprisingly, foxes were the most plentiful as they dashed through the forest to meet the young blonde. Naruto smiled as he pet and cuddled the foxes making Kohaku leap out of his hood and onto the ground to meet the other kitsunes.

"There's so many of them!" the young blonde said as they gathered around him.

**You're the magnet of them. Live with it. **The young blonde's tenant replied to him.

Naruto then walked around the forest a bit more as he explored it further. The trees were as tall as the ones in the forest of death as they towered over the scenery but their shadows would not darken the path since the moonlight glowed gently upon the grassy road that the young blonde trampled on with a battalion of kitsunes following behind him. Despite the wondrous, loveliness of the forest that he had just entered, every time he delved deeper, he noticed that more plants were ebbing away than the ones before him. It was as if the very heart of the mini forest was dying of a plague.

When the young blonde reached the very heart of the forest, everything around him looked dead as the kitsunes behind him steered clear of the ground he stood upon.

"All these plants are dead, especially the big one in the center. What happened here?" the young blonde said as he looked around the mass of decay that was the heart of the forest.

**Take a good look closer and use that brain of yours.** His fiery tenant told him when he saw the necropolis of vegetation through the young blonde's eyes.

Naruto grunted in frustration as he did as he was told. He peered closer to understand what could have possibly gone wrong. But when he recognized the way the plants wilted and the stench of death that flowed from them, he realized what they were.

"No wonder they're this dried up. These are Konoha Fire Lilies. Better fix them up." The young blonde said as he leaped up and landed upon the invisible flooring in the sky.

He then drew on Kyuubi's chakra as it engulfed him until four tails emerged from his fox cloak. The mini Kyuubi then made two handseals and growled, **"Makyoton, Kitsune-bi!"**

His four tails rose above him as a dark red flame erupted from the tips and gathered into the center as one huge flame. He then threw the fire towards the dying area of the forest leaving only the largest dead plant in the center to remain as the fire spread and engulfed the dead plants as he recalled the Kyuubi chakra back into his body as he fell back to the floor where he panted from exhaustion.

It took a toll on his body, but it worked as the dead plants began to grow and intertwine the surrounding trees as they bloomed into blood red flowers that glowed a faint red in the night with tiny pink and orange sparks erupting from them every now and then. The sparks were harmless as they rained down like snow. The kitsunes frolicked in the garden of Konoha Fire Lilies with more joy than ever. They played and danced around the garden of fire born plants as the sparks harmlessly rained down on them.

Naruto smiled as the plants grew in many unique and different ways. He then got up sloppily onto his two feet and leaped up once again to land upon the invisible flooring in the sky. He then pointed his right hand towards the largest lily in the center and began incanting.

"**Dominator. Mask of flesh and blood. All living things fluttering. That which has the name human. Truth and temperance. Slightly imbed your claws into the walls of innocent dreams. Hado number thirty-three, Sokatsui!"**

A huge burst of blue flame then flew from his hand and fell upon the dead Lily as it consumed it whole.

The azure flame burned brightly as it's cyan glow overpowered the red glow of the surrounding fire plants for that moment before it slowly died down and receded as the largest of the Konoha Fire Lilies, consumed the flame. It's worn out and dead stem began to rejuvenate as the leaves grew with renewed vigor as many more grew from the stem that soon became branches. The Konoha Fire Lily grew into a bright and beautiful tree that had a perpetual blue glow as a huge flower bud at the top with many more flowers along the trunk and branches as well as the roots with a tiny blue flame in the middle of the blue and white patterned flowers that bloomed from the tree with the largest flower on top having the largest flame.

"Wow! It's so beautiful. I should get Hinata-chan to see this!" Naruto exclaimed as he gazed upon the arcane, but bewitching woodland around him. Without hesitation, he then transformed into his kitsune form and bolted away in a flash of lightning. And in the blink of an eye, he was in Hinata's room where she covered her mouth as she gasped in shock to see him enter so suddenly.

"Kitsune! What are you doing here so late?" she whispered into his ears as she activated her **Byakugan**.

She searched around for a moment. She saw the servants entering and walking through the halls as well as her father and Hanabi, her younger sister. She quickly searched through the entire mansion for a way out until the white furred kitsune leaped on top of her head and bolted them away in the same manner.

Within the same number of milliseconds he used to travel the first time, he expended it to bring them back just outside the forest in his yard.

The kitsune then leaped off her head and transformed back into his original form as he landed back on solid ground. He then faced his beloved beauty and saw her blushing furiously as she poked her fingers together. Why she was suddenly so bashful was very apparent since she was outside in an unfamiliar place with the boy she loved in her elegant, white yukata that she was going to sleep in until Naruto spirited her away.

The young blonde blushed and scratched his head as Hinata modestly asked, "So where are we Kitsune? I'm not really ready for whatever you planned for us."

Naruto blushed two more shades of red before waving his hands around ridiculously and saying, "I-it's n-not what you think Hina-hime! I swear!"

'_He's stuttering again…It's ironic that he's the one stuttering this time.'_ The Hyuuga heiress thought as she chuckled lightly before replying, "But with the way you're reacting, it sounds like you were planning something."

Naruto was a bit speechless. Hinata then held both hands of the young blonde and leaned her head on his chest. The young blonde then quieted down as he then shifted his hands from her soft grasp and embraced her lovingly. She then embraced him in return until they both pulled away.

Naruto smiled brightly at her as the moonlight revealed her face in its soft glow.

'_Kawai! I still can't believe she's my girlfriend. Hinata-chan is so sweet and kind and strong-willed too. If only I could speed up time so we can get married, then I will. But it's better this way. I got to know her better and she interests me every step of the way.' _The young blonde thought as he then led her by the hand into the forest.

Hinata knew he had something planned for her but was worried about her sudden disappearance from the Hyuuga compound.

"Ano…Kitsune…What about…" Hinata asked worriedly until Naruto said, "I already placed a genjutsu on the room so that people won't realize that you left. Don't worry. The genjutsu is very strong so not even a Hyuuga will notice it."

Hinata nodded as she then embraced his arm and leaned upon his shoulder. She blushed as he shifted his arm once more and placed it around her waist as they walked into the forest.

"So where are you taking me Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked of him.

The young blonde gave her a charming smile as he said, "It's a surprise Hina-hime. I made it just for you."

She giggled at the thought of him making something just for her. "You didn't have to. I'm just happy to be with you. But I'm glad that you really love me and think of me this way."

"I don't see a reason why not. For my lovely hime, I'll give you the world if you ask me to." Naruto said to her as they entered the zone of the fire born plants and were showered with a snowfall of light.

The lavender-eyed girl was shocked and amazed to see the illuminating plants that lit up like lanterns with their faint red glow. She shifted her gaze to her surroundings as the forest literally lighted up the night as many kitsunes burrowing new homes in the glowing locality of this forest in Naruto's backyard.

Hinata begun to catch the sparks of light as they harmlessly fell upon her hands. She noticed that the sparks did no harm to her hands or her clothing. They were just warm speckles of light.

"That's only half of the surprise." The young blonde said as Kohaku leapt out of Naruto's hood and led the way. The young blonde then excitedly took her by the hand and led her into the heart of the forest where the glowing blue tree stood.

She was even more amazed than before when she laid eyes upon the azure glowing tree. The trunk, roots and branches had this beautiful azure glow that complimented the blue and white flowers that bloomed and had a faint blue glow to it as a plume of pure azure flickered to life in its center without dying out. The sparkles of light that poured out from the tree snowed down upon its surroundings like a gentle feather.

Hinata then admired the tree as its beauty dazzled the eyes of the young couple. She then reached out to the light and felt rejuvenated the moment the light touched her. She never felt so relaxed and energized before as the speckles of light revitalized her. She began spinning and dancing around the tree making Naruto blush as he saw her dance with elegance and grace.

'_Wow. She looks even more beautiful with this tree. No, the tree is just the outward manifestation of her inner beauty. Then again, she's beautiful both inside and out. The flame of love is a mysterious one. But I'm glad that I'm consumed by it. And with this person to boot.'_ The young blonde thought as he saw her dance.

She then stopped for a moment and smiled as she outstretched her hand to him.

"Join me Kitsune. I'd love to dance with you." Hinata said as she saw him blush once again.

Naruto then bowed and took her hand as he said, "I'd love to Hina-hime."

And so they danced the night away. They danced with grace and elegance, as the kitsune's adored their romance from a distance till they kissed passionately when the dance ended.

While they had the time of their lives alone, Sasuke's dance with the disguised clone would be an awkward one.

Kakashi finally managed to show Haku around town and escorted him to his hotel room for the night. After an exhausting day of traveling, he decided to stop by the red light district where he saw his favorite book on sale in large stacks where they were selling like hotcakes. He then approached one of the stands and bought himself a new copy and the latest addition to the Icha Icha series. He was happy to see the new book and decided to read it the moment he gets home.

After all, what self-respecting jounin would want to be seen wandering close to such a place?

'_I don't even know how the hokage would allow such a place to exist. Oh, well. At least I have my book.'_ The white haired jounin thought as he marched his way back.

However, he realized that he was missing something else. As he thought for a few seconds, he then halted and said, "That's right! Kurenai burned my camera. I need a new one if I'm going to get back at her for all the bruises and beatings." Kakashi said to himself.

Seeing that he has one more task to perform, Kakashi then proceeded to the shop in the district that sold cameras. And he was in luck.

"Welcome sir! What can I help you with?" the beautiful girl by the counter said as Kakashi entered the store.

She had wild, shoulder length brown hair that she tried to comb down but would stand out at the ends (think Yuna's hair from FFX-2), deep blue eyes, striped stockings in black and pink, a black tank top with shinobi sandals of the same color and a hooded yellow jacket with black, long sleeves that hid her arms as she ate a lollipop in her mouth.

Kakashi was stunned by her lazy beauty but preceded to ask away the clerk for the item he was looking for.

"I'd like to buy a camera worth twelve thousand ryo. It's the price for my last camera since I lost it in an accident on my mission." Kakashi said bluntly.

The woman then walked over to the shelf behind her and said, "Your in luck. We got a new video camera that costs about that much and has about four hours worth of video and a twelve hour battery life."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow lifted up as he said, "Really? What's the catch?"

The woman then placed the camera on the counter and said, "Nothing. It's just brand new so we're not sure about the problems with it."

Kakashi looked at the video camera on the counter with intrigue. It was a two-piece set. The first piece was the clicker and main controlling functions of the camera with the battery inside and a retractable see-through screen that shows you what the camera sees. And by its design, it should be worn on ear with the screen over the eye. The second piece was just the lens. It was just and ordinary camera lens except for the pivoting piece underneath it with a remote link to the first piece.

Kakashi was very interested in the camera. The woman was pleased to see him so curious of the camera as she took it and said, "Here. Let me show you how it works."

The woman then attached the earpiece over her right ear and pulled the screen over her right eye. She then turned on the lens and began turning a knob on the piece making the lens focus and the image projecting on her right eye to focus as well as Kakashi saw the reverse of the image from his view of the screen. She then moved her head around and the lens followed the movement of her head.

"That's pretty ingenious. You sure it's legal though?" Kakashi said to her.

"Not yet. First come first serve. It's one of the first copies so don't get your hopes up too much. But hopefully, it'll be a hit and I'd be able to make legit sales with this stuff." The woman replied.

"I'll take it." Kakashi replied as he placed the money on the counter and got a free roll of film with it and extra batteries.

"Thanks for the camera. Maybe I'll drop by someday for some more." Kakashi said to the woman.

The woman then took out a newspaper and begun reading as she said, "Sure no problem. You can control multiple lenses with just one scanner. Just drop by if you need more since the parts are easy to replace. And my name is Akayashi Mizore by the way."

Kakashi waved goodbye without looking back as he exited the store happy with his purchases. But as he was about to leave, he got a glimpse of Sasuke being hauled around by the collar from a very muscular foreigner.

The white haired jounin's shinobi instincts activated as he casually tailed the man to a dark corner where he listened intently.

The muscular man approached the door in the dark alleyway and said, "Bleeding Mascara."

The door slid open allowing the man inside as he took a very frightened and pale Sasuke with him. Kakashi then put a **henge** on himself and knocked on the door and gave the password. His infiltration of the pub was successful. He was horrified by what he saw. Okamas were waiting the tables in nothing more than bowties or suspenders that attached to netted stockings like garter belts while the customers were people from all walks of life asking their orders as the stench of alcohol and cigarettes and another obscene stench that smell like Clorox fumed the air.

He then decided to view place a bit more since he needed to act as casual as possible. So he sat down to a table where a hairy okama in bowtie came up to him and gave him the menu.

"I can't read what's on it. Can you please explain it to me?" Kakashi asked the okama.

The okama then swayed his hips a bit and said in a girly voice, "well sir, this is the pulutan menu. We have peanuts, calamares, those are deep fried squid rings, talabang sinusundot, those are oysters with lemon and Tabasco, chicharon bulaklak, those are pork rinds, Crispy Pata, those are crispy pork legs, and Inihaw na Tahong. Those are fried mussels."

Kakashi wasn't too pleased with the menu to say the least. He felt like hurling just from the okama let alone the menu or the food. But since he couldn't afford to look suspicious, he then said, "How about one out of each." _'I know I'm going to regret this.'_

The okama then smiled seductively as he took away the menu and gave him a flying kiss before walking in a girly way towards the bar. Kakashi abhorred his stupid idea of entering this place after what the okama did. With all the inward groaning he was making, he wondered how Sasuke got into such a mess.

As he looked around while waiting, he was able to get a layout of the place. At one end was a set of pool tables, a new game in Konoha, along with TV's along the wall close to the bar. At the other end, was a small arena where the mixed sounds of betting could be heard as people raised white tags or red ones while two roosters with a blade attached to their right leg, fought in a death match. And in the center of the room was a stage with several poles and a curtain in the back of it.

But while Kakashi waited patiently in search of Sasuke, the raven-haired boy in a room in the backstage, was being fitted with leather clothing by two women as he helplessly blushed while the door was guarded by two very muscular bald okamas in a dominatrix outfit.

Suddenly, the muscular man from earlier entered the room and said, "Angry jerk, you have thirty seconds before your debut. Now dance like you never danced before and seduce the crowd or else, Sakuya and Sakura over here will make you ride the horses all night long." The man said as he pointed to the two dominatrix-clad okamas making Sasuke shiver. "And if you don't earn me money by the end of the night, I'll make you pick up the soap later."

Sasuke didn't like the sound of that even though he didn't understand the last part very well as the two women began doing his makeup while the opening song was being played.

Kakashi's order arrived just in time for the opening act on stage as a familiar woman sat down next to him and said, "Never expected you to be in a place like this. Especially since we just first met up in my shop."

Kakashi turned his head to face the woman and said in surprise, "Akayashi-san? What are you doing here? And how did you know…"

"I can spot my products anywhere. It has the store emblem on the plastic. And you have the first purchase of a new protoype camera." Mizore said as she pointed on the plastic that contained Kakashi's purchase.

The white haired-jounin then scratched his head as Mizore asked, "So what brings you here to a place like this? Don't tell me you're an okama too."

"No, I'm not. My student got into some trouble and wound up here and I'm trying to find him without arousing suspicion." Kakashi replied, as he looked at the delicious spread before him and begun to re think that the food might be terrible.

"I see. He probably got abducted by that foreigner named Dodong and might become the next act." Mizore said as she shamelessly began eating the chicharon bulaklak.

Kakashi shuddered. Not because of the fact she was eating pork rinds, but the fact that his student is the next act for these customers and it wasn't a good thing. But feeling a hint of deviousness in him, he decided to put his new camera to the test as he assembled it and prepared it the moment Sasuke went on stage.

"So aside from the food and the waiters, what else do you know about this place?" Kakashi asked of the lazy looking beauty that just finished the peanuts on the table.

"Well, on that side, is the pool tables where you can watch some shinobi news and play the new game of pool that Dodong brought in. he also brought in that new betting ring called Sabong or Tukaan meaning rooster fighting where as you can see, two roosters fight to the death for money. I heard that when this place earns enough money, Dodong is going to expand the right wing a bit more and have a mud pit for women or okamas to wrestle in." Mizore said as she finished the calamares.

Kakashi sighed seeing that he was left with the not so good sounding food to eat while waiting for Sasuke's debut. He swallowed hard before putting up his orange book to cover his face and quickly made short work of the food.

"Wow! These are pretty good. I think I'll cook these for my meals next time." Kakashi said, as his visible eye became a u shape the moment he tucked away his book.

Mizore then smiled at his expression as she ate another lollipop. "Pulutan cooking is easy and cheap. I can teach you if you stop by again."

"Maybe if you bring your prices down I might." Kakashi said trying to be shrewd.

"No can do. Black market prices are as cheap as they can be already. And besides, Dodong is on stage already for the introduction." Mizore said as she turned on her seat and watched the muscular man pick up the microphone and said, "Good evening ladies. We have a special dancer for you tonight. It's his debut so give a warm welcome to LEATHERMAN!"

Strobe lights begun to flicker as the man entered through the curtain and whisper to a frightened Sasuke, "Now remember gaki, do the dance moves I taught you or else you know what happens." The muscular man then grabbed a hold of Sasuke's loins for a moment to emphasis his point before slapping his butt on the way out. This of course, caused Sasuke to keel over the curtain and onto the stage as okama, backup dancers took to the poles as the music _**"Satisfaction"**_ begun to play and a spotlight shone on Sasuke.

Kakashi couldn't hold his laughter as he hollered out loud his feelings in the mixed noises of the crowed as he watched Sasuke dance the night away and strip at the same time. Sasuke the whole time was crying anime tears as he danced until he couldn't take it anymore. The crowd saw his awful performance and began to boo him.

The muscular man then came out with a crack whip as the okamas, Sakuya and Sakura, came out with him.

"So he didn't do too well. If that's the case, then lets punish him." The muscular man said as the barkeep changed the music with the song, _**"Let's get it on"**_. Sakuya and Sakura became Sasuke's partner as they stripped down slowly to make him pick up the soap a lot of times on stage. Kakashi had about enough filming and was about to make his move when the real Dodong entered the pub and shouted, "Hey, what the hell's going on here?"

The disguised clone then dispersed himself as Sakuya and Sakura groveled at Dodong's feet and began speaking in a foreign tongue.

"Do you have any idea what he's saying?" Kakashi said to his new friend as he disassembled his camera and tucked it away.

"Actually I do. He's speaking in my native tongue. The two okama's are begging for forgiveness and Dodong is really mad that they followed an impostor." Mizore said as she picked up a knife and fork from Kakashi's table since the white haired jounin just used the chopsticks to eat the food.

"That sound's like my cue. You better get out of here the moment a brawl goes out." Kakashi said as he discreetly walked around to another table and threw a saltshaker at the infuriated Dodong before placing the peppershaker in another man's hand and walking away. The man was royally pissed as he looked over to see where it was thrown and saw an okama there with a peppershaker in his other hand and quickly rushed the man and began beating him as his friends gathered around to help their bloody comrade. Dodong's men began to surround the group as an all out brawl erupted.

Kakashi then approached the barkeep and said, "Know any good fight music?"

"I sure do. It's a local song where me, my daughter and the boss come from, but it gets the mood going for this type of fight." The barkeep said as he changed the music to the song, _**"Bakbakan Na"**_. Kakashi was amused by the change of pace. It was foreign no doubt, but it did fit the mood well as broken glass and blood littered the floor as mass panic and confusion from the melee gave the song some substance.

Sasuke tried to crawl his way out so as not to be detected until a very horny okama found him and ripped his pants down to do the deed.

But before the okama could plunge his yardstick into the young Uchiha, Mizore used the fork to stab down on it and follow up the attack with a knife up his chin as the blade pierced his brain leaving one less okama on the floor.

"I don't think you can handle another one after what happened on stage." Mizore said as she helped Sasuke out of the pub while Kakashi tried to inch his way out of the crowd until he noticed Mizore waving at him with Sasuke in her arms before they fled the pub.

Kakashi then approached the barkeep who, surprisingly with his old age is holding his own, and said, "Hey barkeep, one last music change before I run out of here."

The barkeep then kicked an okama in his balls and then quickly changed the music to the song, _**"No Falter" **__by __**Wolfgang**_. The quickness of the song made the melee even rowdier than usual until one okama fell upon the radio accidentally hits the button to change the music making the speakers wail, "_How can I live without you?"_

Kakashi had no time to sweatdrop at the awkwardness of the song was in the midst of a riot as he and the barkeep ran out until they met up with Mizore and a now grateful Sasuke as Kakashi and the barkeep met up with them.

"Looks like you guys got out in one piece." Kakashi said as he tore down the transformation, which shocked Sasuke to no end.

"Kakashi-sensei? WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING IN THERE!" Sasuke said as he backed away from the white-haired jounin.

"Well, I was walking around until I spotted one of my students being hauled away by some muscular looking guy into a strange pub which made me wonder what you were doing in there." Kakashi retorted.

"At least everyone's safe. Right otou-san?" the lazy beauty said to the barkeep.

"Yup. So no more accusations and let's call it a night." The barkeep responded.

"So he's your father. Now it makes sense why you were there in the first place. What a small world we live in." Kakashi said to Mizore who nodded in reply as they chuckled for a while.

Sasuke now had a bad impression of his sensei after hearing how well acquainted he was with these two people and the fact that he was in such a place. Not only was the raven-haired boy emotionally scarred for life, but he was now worried since he now knows about Kakashi's dark secret and probably the reason why he's always so late.

"C'mon Sasuke. Let's get you cleaned up and on your way home. You can cry on my shoulder on the way there." Kakashi said as he extended a hand to Sasuke.

Sasuke backed away even more as he shouted, "No way! I now know your dark secret and you might take advantage of me hentai!"

"You're the one to talk. You were all over Sakura during those fateful nights." Kakashi replied causing Sasuke to blush.

The barkeep then shook his head as he said, "Sakura eh? I never knew you had such interests and an okama at such a young age. What has become of our world?"

Sasuke then shouted, "Not your bastard Sakura! My teammate Sakura!"

Kakashi then slyly replied, "Oh, so you're admitting it. You must like doing stuff like that to Sakura. Though sandaime law states that you are an adult once you become a genin, please keep your intimate sessions with her discreet. It's for my safety as well."

Sasuke then blushed three shades darker in both embarrassment and fury.

"Kuso! I should have never followed Naruto to his house and avoided this mess!" Sasuke shouted again as he banged his head on the wall.

"My gosh. A hentai and a stalker! You really take the cake in being an askal. In our language, that means a street dog." Mizore said as Sasuke hung his head in defeat.

"I really don't care anymore. My ass is sore, I'm weak in the knees and I don't like to get close to another guy for a couple of days. I'm going home." Sasuke said as he walked as if he had a bottle stuck up his ass.

Kakashi then bid goodbye to Mizore and her father and used a **henge** to make him look like Kurenai to accompany the psychologically distressed Sasuke.

"Somehow, that isn't really comforting…" Sasuke said with a very pale and worn out expression on his face.

"Don't worry Sasuke. These things do happen especially in prison. So now you have experience on what it's going to be like if you become a prisoner during a mission." The disguised Kakashi said as Sasuke began to cry anime tears once again.

"I really appreciate Sakura's affections now. Better to have Sakura drool over me than that okama named Sakura and his accomplice Sakuya use me as a sperm bucket." Sasuke said as he cried on his way home with Kakashi keeping him company in his disguised form.

When the raven-haired boy quieted down, Kakashi then asked him, "So you followed Naruto home?"

Kakashi was distressed that Sasuke had found the young blonde's hideaway in area forty-four and needed an explanation.

"Hai. I saw him on the streets with his clones carrying a lot of boxes and talking about the chuunin exams. I got curious and followed him to his house. It looked abandoned with all the vines and moss that grew on the walls, the gate and the house. But it was pretty decent for that baka to have." Sasuke said to the disguised jounin who felt relieved but intrigued at how Naruto got a decent house by the sound of Sasuke's description. But then again, the mission to Wave provided him with the salary so it isn't so hard to believe.

The disguised jounin then decided to listen in some more as Sasuke continued, "After I followed him from a safe distance, he entered his house with his clones and then that big guy came up behind me and hauled me down there. I couldn't move when grabbed me by the shoulder. He was feeling me and it didn't feel right."

Kakashi shook his head at the sad and rough night Sasuke had this evening. When they finally reached the Uchiha compound, Kakashi then dropped the **henge** and said, "I can't say that I know what it feels like to nearly get raped. But I think this is a lesson you need to learn and appreciate the good things in your life like our Sakura's affection towards you. You may feel annoyed, but be happy it's a girl and not a guy who's madly in love with you. And with the way you reacted down there in the pub, it was obvious you were weak in that battle. That's why you have your friends with you to help you and support you. You're not alone Sasuke. And I'll make sure that nothing like that ever happens again."

Sasuke had a hard time believing him, but he had to trust him since the jounin has info that can be used against him.

"Alright. We will never talk about this again." Sasuke said to Kakashi.

"What talk?" Kakashi answered back, gaining a smirk from the raven-haired boy as he walked away.

Kakashi then walked in the opposite direction. After he confirmed that no one was around, he took out his camera and begun viewing the shameful dance of Sasuke as he said to himself, "Hehehe. Action speaks louder than words Sasuke. All I need now is a TV and the real fun will begin."

For Naruto, he gave out the truth of his existence to a wise old friend. For Sasuke, he learned the consequences of his actions against a wise old friend. All in all, they both learned truth and consequence.

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This chapter is shorter so I can gauge my ability to write since I want a continuous stream of updates within at least three to five days. Another reason is so that I can have more page space for the Chuunin Exams Arc without any cliffhangers. Thanks for reading and if there is a willing beta among my readers, please pm me so that I can have it proofread in order to write better. Ja ne!

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**Makyoton, Kitsune-bi(Demonic release, Fox Fire)-** derived from an aged legend of foxes being capable of producing fire. The attack is very simple. Its raw power of flames scorches anything it comes in contact with. The greater the chakra, the stronger and more powerful the flames.


	20. Chuunin Exams have Begun

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: Thanks for everyone's reviews. I'm glad that someone pointed out my grave mistakes in the last chapter. So I'll keep things in check from now on.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 20**

_**Chuunin Exams have begun**_

With repercussions of the night before…

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Dawn cracked the blue sky with the flash of orange and red light that slowly rose up to awaken the residents of Konoha. The light of dawn woke up the young blonde's body as his eyes fluttered back and forth before his vision gained focus. He quickly got out of his bed, which was now the master's bedroom of his father's house, and decided to shower early this time not because he wasn't planning on sweating today, but rather to ponder upon the repercussions of last night's fiasco.

The young blonde then let the running water of the shower to beat on his body and dampen his hair as he struck his fist on the shower wall. "Kuso! How the hell did that clone get out of hand? What happened back there?"

His tenant shook his head as he replied, **Baka! Isn't it obvious? Your prank went out of hand and you ended up blowing off some steam through it. If you want things to get better, you'd better keep your emotions in check.**

The young blonde began grabbing his hair that has grown a little more over the few weeks and shouted, "Kuso! The damage is done and there's no way to apologize! What do I do?"

His tenant, irritated by his vessel's panic, replied, **Baka! Calm down before you wake up the neighborhood! Listen to me well and you can get out of this easily.**

The young blonde listened with all ears as a smile crept up his face with every word he heard from his tenant. Naruto then left the shower and changed both outwardly and inwardly as he** shunpo'd **to the kitchen. He then began cooking as Ichigo entered the kitchen and rubbed the sand out his still sleepy eyes.

"You wake up this early too?" Naruto said as Ichigo grabbed a glass and began cracking eggs into it.

"School does that to you. How did you get rid of Sasuke last night?" Ichigo said before drinking the glassful of eggs.

The young blonde sighed as he began flipping the eggs and rolling them up with dried seaweed. "I screwed up last night."

"So he knows already?" Ichigo asked in surprise.

The young blonde shook his head as he began molding the rice and adding it to the rolled up scrambled eggs. "No. It's just that last night, my way of getting rid of him was too drastic and I need to apologize somehow but if I do, he'll suspect me of a lot of things."

"That sounds like fun. Getting on your friend's bad or annoyed side is just an everyday thing for you." Ichigo sarcastically stated.

Just as Naruto finished making Tamago and onigiri, he felt the reiatsu of the person he did not want to meet up with right away just a few blocks away from his house. The young blonde then packed up the tamago and onigiri into a bento box and **shunpo'd **out of the house leaving Ichigo to himself.

With a vein throbbing on his forehead, Ichigo then said, "He left without saying goodbye and cleaning up the mess."

While Ichigo cleaned up the mess and explored the Namikaze home, Naruto rushed to meet Sasuke who was closing in on his house.

The young blonde managed to find Sasuke on the streets as he hid in a corner before running normally to meet the brooding Uchiha.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here so early?" Naruto asked as he stopped right in front of the young Uchiha.

Sasuke had definite eye bags on his face implying that he wasn't in the best shape and hadn't slept for eight hours and a slight grumble from his stomach that echoed out loud told the young blonde that he didn't eat breakfast either.

Sasuke blushed a little when he heard his stomach grumble out loud causing the young blonde to smile as he handed out a bento to Sasuke. 

"Arigato. I couldn't sleep last night and Kakashi said that we should meet up at the bridge near training ground seven." Sasuke replied as he quickly opened the bento and ate the food with renewed vigor as color filled his face again.

The two boys then took a stroll to Sakura's house to pick her up as well. As they walked down the street, Naruto yawned and said, "Hey Sasuke, how about we have a sparring match while we wait up for Kakashi-sensei?" 

Sasuke smirked in reply as they got to Sakura's house and the raven-haired boy knocked on the wooden door. The door swung open as an older woman with pink hair meet the two new visitors.

"We're here to pick up our teammate Sakura. We have a training mission today." Sasuke said to the woman who gave a hard gaze at the young blonde. This of course, did not evade Sasuke's observant eyes and mind despite his tired state.

The woman then shifted her eyes to the young Uchiha and smiled at him making Sasuke even more suspicious of the woman as she said, "Oh, I see. I'll go get Sakura."

The woman then closed the door behind her as she went to wake the slumbering Sakura. While they waited for her to awaken from slumber, Sasuke then sighed as he faced Naruto and gave him a sharp glare, which made the young blonde sweat drop.

'_Oh, great! This is just perfect. He's wondering about the hatred of Sakura's mom to me.'_ The young blonde thought as he backed away a few steps.

Sasuke then bluntly asked him, "Naruto, why do so many people hate you? And what are you hiding?" 

Naruto then gave him a foxy grin and said, "Well, given my reputation it should be pretty obvious."

"Not too obvious. You're the one who emphasized teamwork but I have this feeling that you're not telling us something." Sasuke replied making the young blonde inwardly jump knowing how close he is to blowing his cover.

"You have feelings? That's new." Naruto wittily replied.

Sasuke huffed knowing that once Naruto starts acting this way, he won't open up and make all sorts of excuses at this point. The young blonde was pretty clever when it came to getting away with things. But what really made the young blonde so elusive was his unnatural amount of luck as it played out with the exit of Sakura from her door as the sun flared the sky at the east, indicating the start of morning.

"So Kakashi-sensei wants us to train this early? Knowing him, he'll be three hours late." Sakura lazily said as she approached the team.

Naruto then ran up to her and said, "Ohayo Sakura-chan! I made fresh bento for you since we won't b—" before he continued his sentence, he accidentally tripped and incidentally, shoved Sasuke forward, causing the raven-haired boy to keel over and collapse right on top of Sakura. This of course, ended up with their lips meeting like never before as they landed on the ground, lips to lips.

Both genins were blushing three shades darker as Sasuke got up and made a very bad impression of Naruto and said, "G-gomen! It was an accident!"

Sakura got up and looked away as her blushed remained and she swayed her body in excitement. "It's alright Sasuke-kun. I know it was an accident. It's fine really."

"Oi! When you guys are done being lovey-dovey over there, can we get to the bridge already!" Naruto hollered out from a distance.

"How did he…never mind, let's go." Sasuke said to the pink-haired girl who tailed him with an almost permanent blush and hearts for eyes, as two yellow eyes in the shadows, kept an ever vigilant watch of the team like a predator, hunting it's prey.

Meanwhile…out in the outskirts of the sandy desserts on the border of Sand, a man in white pants, shoes, long white sleeved shirt, and a small white mantle, coughed out the rough, desert air that entered his mouth as he adjusted the frames of his rectangular glasses. He wasn't so used to the dessert nor it's heat despite having experience in Hueco Mundo. 

As he dusted off the dirt on his pants, another figure came closer to him. She wore a kimono and hakama in colors opposite the man's outfit, and a brown cape over it as she covered her mouth to prevent the same situation from occurring to her.

"So this is what Naruto's world looks like. Hard to believe he grew up in a place like this," the woman said as she fastened her zanpakuto to prevent it from falling off.

"I doubt we're anywhere near where he is. We've been traveling for some time now and I can't seem to see the others Rukia-san." The man said as he looked around.

Rukia then took out her GPS and searched for the reiatsu signal of her nakama but couldn't get farther than the edge of Konoha's gate. She then closed the device and said, "None of them are within range up to now. We must have been scattered all over the place."

"Well we first have to reach Konoha since that's where we'll be gathering before we take another step further." The man said to her as he walked forward.

"Ishida, Konoha is about two days away from here moving normally. If we hurry up, we could get there in half the time." Rukia stated.

"So we're not that far off. Either way, we have to get out of the desert and into the forest up ahead where it's safer." Ishida replied seeing the forest up ahead.

Both then ran through into the forest as fast as possible without faltering. Sure they would expend some energy by doing so, but their trek would be more efficient this way.

As the pair moved as quickly as they could, another man far off in the north of Konoha had just gotten the right directions to the famous city as he trekked southwards while the sun beat down on his tanned skin and messy brown hair. 

In the west of Konoha a man with fiery red hair and the same attire as Rukia had just finished drinking from the river as a woman came running to him.

"Abarai-kun! I found the location of Konoha!" the orange haired woman exclaimed.

"Yosh. I was getting tired of being lost. So where is it?" He asked her.

"Konoha is just east from here and it's not too far away either." The perky woman said.

Before the two could depart, an idea struck the red haired man. He then asked of his companion, "Where did you get the directions?"

"A man who just came from there and was heading home to his country here." The woman replied as she fixed her hairclips before they returned to their journey to Konoha.

And finally, at the gates of Konoha, team ten halted a wild haired man in a striped hat carrying a large rucksack on his back from stepping any further upon Konoha soil.

"This is so troublesome but we can't let you in if you don't state your purpose in Konoha." Shikamaru said as Asuma kept a close watch of his team.

"Yare, yare. I'm a simple candy peddler here to make a living." The man said as he put down his rucksack and showed them his goods.

Chouji's mouth was watering as he saw the big bag of chips inside and got a devious idea…At least for him.

"Your goods are not allowed until we inspect them personally." The plump boy said as he approached the bag with fire in his eyes until Asuma yanked him back by the collar.

"Oops. We can't have that happen. You just ate barbeque awhile ago and sweets aren't good for your body." Asuma stated to the pleading Akamichi.

"Alright, you better get going before my teammate over there annoys me with his bottomless pit." Ino said as she tried to shoo him away. 

But the man was much more persistent than that as he said, "Arigato for your hospitality. As a token for my thanks, how about having a free bite of my products?"

Chouji's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Asuma-sensei! Free food!"

Asuma couldn't do anything at this point as the candy peddler gave them each, a piece of candy except for Ino who refused.

"Why not? An ojou-sama as your self can at least spare for some candy." The peddler said to her as he smiled.

"No thanks. I'm on a diet and sweets aren't part of it unlike Chouji." Ino replied.

Still persistent as ever, the candy peddler cheerfully and charismatically replied, "How about sugarless candy for those such as yourself? I have one that models have been eating for years now without gaining an inch of fat. In fact, it helps reduce fat and make a woman look even more womanly."

Asuma shook his head as he thought, _'There's no way Ino will fall for th—'_

"I'll take it!" Ino exclaimed much to Shikamaru and Asuma's chagrin as the peddler went on his way into the streets of Konoha.

Team seven finally arrived at the bridge while Naruto kept ever vigilant of his surroundings.

"Yosh! I'll just do a couple of stretching exercises and we can spar all we want." The young blonde exclaimed.

Sakura then pulled Sasuke to the side as Naruto began his stretching exercises. Sasuke was curious as to what Sakura wanted.

"What now Sakura?" Sasuke said as Sakura checked to see if Naruto was paying attention before she whispered to the raven-haired boy's ear. "Sasuke-kun, why is Naruto so nice today?"

Sasuke wondered about that as well. Normally, the young blonde avoids being too nice to them or being too mean. But a sudden change in heart is surprising.

"I don't get it either but as long as he's not playing pranks it's fine with me." Sasuke said as he moved closer to the young blonde and takes a fighting stance.

Naruto had just finished his stretching as he took a fighting stance and faced Sasuke. They both stood still with a sense of calm. Sasuke was cautious as to not allow any openings this time since he knows first hand of the blonde's taijutsu skills.

Naruto was waiting for the right time to strike as a slight breeze blew allowing some leaves to flow between them as Sakura sat down and ate from the bento with joy. A leaf passed through the vision of Sasuke allowing Naruto to make the first move.

Sasuke blocked Naruto's right fist with his left arm as he attempted to parry it to the side. The young blonde then stepped his left foot forward in between Sasuke's legs as he grabbed Sasuke's left arm with his left hand and his shirt by the collar with his right. He quickened his movements as he spun and threw Sasuke to the ground. Sasuke quickly spun to sweep the young blonde's legs but was unable to as Naruto shifted his anchor leg and got Sasuke in a headlock with his legs and also trapped Sasuke's left arm within the submission hold.

Sakura was too shocked to understand how Naruto was able to take down Sasuke with ease as the raven-haired boy gasped for air.

"Round one is my win." Naruto said before letting go of Sasuke and getting back to his stance.

'_I didn't see that coming. I'll have to use __**Sharingan**__ if I want to cope.'_ The raven-haired boy thought as he got up and revealed his bloodline limit. Naruto knew that things would get a bit more intense from here on and had prepared for this.

Sasuke charged and threw a right kick to the young blonde who caught the leg by the ankle and knee preventing Sasuke from shifting his weight to make a follow up attack as he moved forward causing both fighters to fall down as Naruto got Sasuke's right leg in a leg lock. The young Uchiha tried rolling to prevent the leg lock but his movement made things worse allowing Naruto to make both his legs locked as the young blonde stood up and kept the pressure on Sasuke's crossed legs by the ankles while the raven-haired boy's upper body was bent on the floor.

"Second win Sasuke. It doesn't matter if you can see my movements if I have you in a position where you can't move your body to fight back." Naruto calmly stated as he let go of the submission hold and took his stance again.

Sasuke tried over and over to attack from different directions while Naruto kept using Sasuke's weight and balance against him allowing the young blonde to repeatedly throw him upon the floor. Sasuke now knew the full extent of Naruto's abilities in taijutsu and was enjoying their spar since he was learning Naruto's fighting skills at the same time.

The young blonde knew that Sasuke was enjoying their battle even though he was losing. But eventually, the raven-haired boy was slowly adapting to the situation as Naruto crossed Sasuke's two arms together and spun them like a wheel allowing Sasuke to fall to the floor and giving Naruto the chance to get him into a headlock. Sasuke was able to see it coming and sweep Naruto's leg causing him to lose balance as the young Uchiha got up but Naruto still held fast to Sasuke's right arm as he pulled down and got Sasuke into a headlock and shoulder lock with his legs while the young blonde was still on the floor. Without hesitation, Naruto shifted the weight of his legs to cause Sasuke to fall over on his left side as Naruto used this opportunity to pin Sasuke to the floor with his full weight while at the same time, giving the raven-haired boy no chance to use his other arm or body to escape. Sasuke couldn't get out of this one and struggled for a few seconds until out of adrenaline, he tapped the floor with his other trapped hand, indicating that he was withdrawing from the fight.

Naruto let go allowing the young Uchiha to slump to the floor as he panted and gasped for air once more.

"That's my eightieth win Sasuke. Good to know you're improving." Naruto said as he gave him his infamous foxy grin.

"I was just warming up." Sasuke boastfully stated as he deactivated his **Sharingan**.

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms as she said, "Man, you guys never quit. Three hours and you're still at it. Both of you changed ever since that mission to Wave." _**Kakashi-sensei, hurry up and come damn it!**_

And just before the two rivals could continue, the white-haired jounin arrived on top of one of the red gateway arches of the bridge with his new book in hand and what seems to be a staff neatly wrapped in cloth on his back as he said, "Hello everybody. Ohayo. I got lost today so…"

And the genins of team seven unanimously shouted, "You're late!"

Kakashi inwardly grinned when he saw their unanimous death glares. "Today, we'll be doing some training so that we can work better as a team. Hopefully, we can learn some new jutsus on the way."

Sasuke kept focus on Kakashi at this point as a small smile grew on the young Uchiha's brooding face. Naruto mentally slapped himself since he knew that Kakashi wasn't going to let up on the investigation and he would have to hide his abilities carefully while Sakura pouted and sighed in regret.

Before Kakashi could swing the moods even further, Naruto then made a **Kage Bunshin** and sent him on his way. Curious of why he did that, Kakashi asked, "Hey Naruto, why did you make a clone? Forgot something?"

The young blonde scratched his head as a blush formed on his face. "Yeah I did. I needed him to run errands for me today." _'Actually, he's got a lot of missions today aside from buying stuff from the house. I forgot to check up on Haku and Ichigo today as well as Hinata-chan.'_

"You could've done that with the three hours we had to wait for Kakashi-sensei to arrive baka." Sakura bluntly stated.

"And you could've used those three hours to get even more intimate with Sasuke than that kiss you gave him this morning." Naruto slyly retorted.

Kakashi was intrigued by the newfound knowledge of his students as Sasuke and Sakura blushed a shade darker.

"Anyway, let's head over to training ground seven." Kakashi stated as he handed to Naruto the cloth-wrapped stick on his back. The young blonde unwrapped it as Sasuke and Sakura watched with curiosity to see a wooden katana complete with a sheath in the hands of the young blonde.

"Arigato Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed as they went on their way to training ground seven while Sasuke had a hint of jealousy for the young blonde's new toy.

The team squeezed out every ounce of sweat and energy they could muster from the harsh training of Kakashi. Sakura was worse for wear with the sudden change of pace that Kakashi made for their training program while Naruto and Sasuke coped without much difficulty. Naturally, Naruto held back most of the time so that it would appear that he was still an imbecile. This, of course, frustrated the one-eyed jounin since his investigation wasn't going as planned.

Eventually, the peak of the heat bore down upon the heavy shoulders and sweaty brows of the young Uchiha and the pink-haired girl as noon came. However, Naruto wasn't sweating or looking winded at all as if he wasn't even warmed up. It was the only flaw in Naruto's mask since he couldn't control his naturally involuntary muscles and organs as the rest of the team pondered upon Naruto's hidden agenda.

Team seven strolled back into the streets of Konoha as Naruto brought out his black book and read it while keeping his pace at the back of the group, preventing the others from glancing at the contents of his book with curiosity.

Kakashi then blurted out, "Shall we call it quits for today? I have to go submit the mission report since your training was still part of the mission."

Sakura huffed out in relief while Sasuke turned around to leave.

"Thanks for breakfast and the match we had earlier." Sasuke said as Naruto leaned upon the wooden wall and nodded before continuing his reading.

Sakura then handed the empty bento to Naruto and thanked him before walking off to follow Sasuke who turned her down. Had the young blonde still had feelings for Sakura at this point, he would have been heart-broken. But he had someone much better than her and was happier than ever. 

Sakura cried anime tears as the young blonde lazily stated, "If you want to get his heart you got to grab him by the balls. Otherwise, he'll never look up to you. He needs someone he can depend on and not just another fan girl."

Sakura reared her vein-throbbing face at Naruto and replied, "Shut up lazy ass. What do you know about feelings?"

Naruto flipped another page as Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Not much. But if Sasuke really hated you, he'd just keep walking instead of bluntly encouraging you. That's his way of saying 'I'm interested but I look much deeper than that.'"

Sakura quit her whining at that point and realized that Naruto was telling the truth. Even in the academy, Sasuke was aloof to every girl except her. This made her blush as a smile crept on her face while Inner Sakura shouted, _**Yosha! We got him in the palm of our hands Shannaro!**_

"You're actually smarter than you let on Naruto. What else haven't you told us?" Sakura said hoping to suck up more juicy info from the blonde about Sasuke.

"That I'm being tailed by a square rock with two eyeholes." Naruto stated as he glared at the bad camouflaging technique of the Konohamaru Corps behind Sakura.

Sakura looked to see what Naruto meant and sweatdropped.

"I should have expected that from the man whom I have high hopes for and is also my rival." Konohamaru said as the box flew out while three puffs of thick smoke emerged and several coughing sounds were heard.

"Hey, you used too much gunpowder." Konohamaru said to his teammate before they performed their ridiculous introduction.

"Just as I thought, it was the three of you." Naruto said as he closed his book and eyed the kunai in Konohamaru's right hand.

The young blonde grinned as he said, "So you finally got the kunai. Ready to take you're freedom back?"

"Not yet. Let's play ninja today!" Konohamaru yelled at him.

"No can do. I'm busy today." Naruto said as he quickly glanced at the black cat by the corner before it etched out a line with three circles along the line on the post by the corner.

"What's the point of a ninja playing ninja?" Sakura said in a dark tone as she eyed the young blonde with frustration.

Konohamaru and his gang noticed this and had the wrong idea. "You're better than I thought. She's your…" he then stuck out his pinky from his closed left fist and continued with a smile. "Right?"

Sakura was even more frustrated and Naruto replied to Konohamaru, "Nah. She's my teammate. Who'd want a cherry demon as a girlfriend? Honestly, I'm scared of those types of girls especially if they had pink hair."

Sakura threw her fist at the young blonde only for him to reappear behind her and transform into Sasuke as he embraced her and said, "Don't be so mad. I'll take good care of you from now on."

Sakura cringed and carried the transformed blonde on her two arms as she shouted, "Kuso! Playing with my feelings like a puppeteer. You're the worst NARUTO!"

She then threw him to the wall only for him to kick off it and land back on his feet. The Konohamaru Corps then brought out scorecards and raised it high with the numbers ten and one nine shone off it as the young blonde bowed in thanks making Sakura all the more frustrated with him because of his agility. 

"Haha! The ugly girl couldn't lay a finger on Leader!" Konohamaru said making it the last statement he'd say for the day. Sakura then glared at Konohamaru with hate before cracking her knuckles, making him shiver with fright.

Sakura then walked away in anger, leaving a beaten Konohamaru and a seemingly bruised Naruto as the young blonde dropped the **henge**.

The two boys got up as Konohamaru held his bump on his head and said, "That stupid wide-head-forehead-girl…is she even a girl?"

Naruto knew that his words didn't bode well since Sakura was still within hearing range. The young blonde then quickly made a one-handed seal while everyone was still preoccupied with their emotions of fright as Sakura reared her head back at them and then began rambling like the banshee she is and gave chase to them.

They ran for their lives and when Konohamaru decided to run much faster, he accidentally bumped into a teen in a batman-like costume and a human-sized, bandaged object on his back. He even had purple face paint, reminiscent of the Kabuki from an old Japanese play.

As the young boy fell on his behind, he noticed that the guy wasn't alone and had a female companion who had blonde hair and short bangs with four ponytails at the back and brown eyes. She wore chain mail underneath her white, rolled up sleeved dress that stopped at her middle thighs and was buttoned down at her right side while a red sash secured it around her waist. She also had the same chain mail on her legs like short, disconnected stockings that alternated starting from her shinobi sandals up. Also, a large, metal, collapsible fan burdened her back though she seemed capable of carrying it and her hitai-ate was slung around her neck, indicating she was a shinobi.

"That hurt." The painted guy said as he grabbed Konohamaru by the collar and lifted him to eye level.

The others panicked as Naruto eyed the boy stoically while his clone managed to find Sasuke's and Gaara's position in the trees before he would make his entry.

Konohamaru struggled as the painted guy said, "That hurt, gaki."

"Stop it! We're going to get scolded later." His female companion said as she looked away.

Naruto then stepped up and unhinged the hand of the guy allowing Konohamaru to land safely to the floor as he cowered behind Naruto.

"So you think you're tough eh?" the painted guy said as he eyed the blonde with a killing intent. Naruto smirked as his clone used **Shunpo** and got behind the painted guy with a kunai in a reverse grip as the blade rested safely near the guy's throat and the blade of a sickle in between the guys legs as it threatened to lop off his groins while the clone held the scythe's handle in the other hand.

The painted guy was stunned into silence as he thought, _'Bakana! How did he get behind me so fast? I didn't even sense him!'_

'_How did he get behind Kankuro like that? I didn't even see him!'_ Kankuro's female companion thought as a bead of sweat began pouring from her brow. Meanwhile, Sasuke gazed completely speechless, as did Sakura and the Konohamaru Corps. 

Naruto then dispersed the clone and placed his hands in his pocket as he confidently said, "I don't just know. I _am_ tough. Sand nins should give respect as much as we give it to you. The last thing you guys need is a war with Konoha after all the political crap you guys are going through because of your economic decline. Leave in peace or I won't hesitate the next time."

The young blonde turned on his heel as he walked away only for an enraged Kankuro to throw his other fist as he shouted, "Don't kid with me!"

His fist never connected as Sasuke threw the rock in his hands at the fist of Kankuro. Everyone looked at where the rock came from as Sasuke said, "What do you think you're doing in another's village?"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted in glee.

"Get lost." Sasuke said to them as he crushed another rock in his hands to emphasize his remark.

"I hate kids like you who think they're so clever. I'll take you down _and_ your friends." Kankuro said as he removed the bandaged pillar on his back as his female companion panicked. "You're going to use Karasu?!" She questioned in anxiousness.

"Kankuro, stop." A deep, deathly voice said from a tree branch not far from Sasuke's position making the two sand nins gape in fright. As they looked to see a red haired nin with a red tattoo of the kanji for love imprinted on the left side of his forehead. He wore brown pants and a short sleeved shirt over his chain mail armor while a white sash hung around his right shoulder to fasten upon his back a large gourd with a red sash about it's middle. There were several seals written on it too. Several more leather straps further secured it in place while his hitai-ate was tied to the largest buckle as he pierced his black eye-lined, green eyes into the souls of his now frightened comrades.

"You're a disgrace to our village. Why do you think we came here all the way to Konoha?" The red haired boy said making Kankuro and his female companion even more frightened while a smile crept up on Naruto's face.

'_When did this guy appear next to me? He was as quiet as Kakashi and Naruto's __**bunshin**_Sasuke thought as he eyed the red haired nin warily.

"Listen, Gaara…these guys started it." Kankuro complained.

"Shut up. Or I'll kill you." Gaara coldly said making his companions shiver and back away in fright.

Gaara then eyed the Konoha genins and the Konohamaru Corps as he said, "Excuse them, you guys." Gaara then **shunsined,** leaving behind a bit of sand and landed beside his fellow sand nins. "Let's go. We didn't come here to fool around." He told his companions as they begun to walk away.

Sakura then said, "Wait up!"

"What is it?" Gaara coldly replied as Sasuke landed beside the Konohamaru Corps.

"You're shinobis from Sunagakure right? Konoha and Suna have an alliance but a treaty prevents shinobi from entering each other's countries without permission. State your purpose." Sakura stated.

"What you're looking for is closer than you think." The blonde girl said as she showed her traffic pass.

"This is a traffic pass." The blonde girl said. "As you have guessed, we're genins of Sunagakure from Suna no Kuni. We came to this village to take the Chuunin selection Exam."

"Figures." Naruto said as he calmly eyed Gaara not with malice, but nostalgia as the sand nins walked away.

Sasuke on the other hand, eyed him with suspicion as he said, "Hey, you there. What's you're name."

The female blonde blushed slightly as she turned around and said, "Me?"

"No. The one beside you with the gourd." Sasuke replied as the other two sand nins stopped and turned around.

"Sabaku no Gaara. I am also interested in you. What's your name?" Gaara replied.

Sasuke had small smile as he answered, "Uchiha Sasuke."

Gaara then turned his head towards the fiery, but calm young blonde who never left his azure eyes from the red haired nin. "And you. What's your name?"

Naruto walked forward with a confident face as he stood a few steps away from Gaara and calmly said, "Uzumaki Naruto. By the feel of your aura, you must be the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi known as Shukaku. Am I right?"

The sand nins' eyes widened at what they heard while Sasuke and Sakura were confused by the new revelation that still circled in their minds along with how Naruto was involved in all these things.

Gaara smirked as he approached the young blonde and smiled making Kankuro and his female companion terrified since Gaara had never smiled like this before.

"I'm afraid that's true. Who are you? I don't know anyone outside my village who knows my identity." Gaara stated, as his smile never seemed to leave him for the moment while Sasuke and Sakura pondered the same question as well.

Naruto gave him a foxy grin as he said, "A fellow friend who knows pain like you do." Naruto blinked for a moment revealing his crimson-slit eyes for a split second, making Kankuro, and the blonde girl back away as Gaara smiled even more devilish than before, causing the Konohamaru Corps to shudder in fear as Sakura and Sasuke did the same.

"You're even more interesting." Gaara said as he gestured Naruto to shake hands. The moment the young blonde did, he felt the surge of killing intent from Gaara. He smiled just as wildly as he sent his own and a small surge of spiritual pressure making Gaara flinch a little before letting go and regaining composure.

"You're very strong. With power like that, I'm surprised you're still a genin. I'd like to see you in the chuunin exams." Gaara said, as his face became stoic once more.

Sasuke bit his thumb to relieve himself from the sudden shock as he thought, _'Kuso! I couldn't move or speak when these guys were shaking hands. What is he? A monster? And what is _Naruto_? This is getting out of hand.'_

Naruto then placed his hands in his pocket and said, "I can't enter the chuunin exams if my sensei hasn't allowed me to. But hopefully, we will."

Gaara and his team then left leaving the rest of the Konoha nins in shock as Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the collar and said, "Okay, what's going on here? How do you know them?"

Naruto slightly looked over Sasuke's shoulder to see the black cat that was paying attention all this time, walk away. This didn't evade Sasuke's sight, as he looked over his shoulder to see nothing making him even more frustrated.

"Sasuke-kun, you won't get anything out of him by forcing him." Sakura said to him, making the raven-haired boy even more frustrated.

"Hey put down our Leader you jerk!" Moegi said while Udon and Konohamaru agreed.

Sasuke then put him down. But the moment he did, a breeze blew by as leaves began to fall. Sasuke was prepared for this and grabbed Naruto again as he said, "You're not getting away this time. I know about your **Shunsin**."

"Maybe you do. But this fox is still one step ahead of the hounds. I'm getting hungry so I'll be getting some dango if you don't mind." The young blonde said as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Kuso! A **Kage Bunshin**." Sasuke said as he walked towards the post to search for anything that could lead him to where Naruto could be heading.

"Sasuke-kun, there's no way that Naruto would leave anything behind. I hate to admit it, but he's too smart for his own good."

Sasuke ignored her as he got up and said, "That's why I'm following him. There's too many weird things about him. Where can you buy dango around here?"

Sakura then used this as a chance to get closer to him as she politely replied, "I can show you where it is."

With that, the two other members of team seven left in search for the mysterious young blonde.

Meanwhile, near the red light district of Konoha, Haku was overlooking the city from his window as he ate some dango and onigiri for lunch. With his remaining funds, it was all he can afford.

"Konoha sure is busy at this hour." He said as he looked at his new hitai-ate by the windowsill. He was happy that he was free to be himself and start a new life all thanks to Naruto. And speaking of which, the young blonde was already at Haku's door as he knocked on it.

Haku then opened the door to see the smiling young blonde carrying his katars and a new set of clothing for Haku to wear.

"Hello Naruto-kun. What brings you here?" Haku asked of him.

"Here. These are yours. I don't need the katars anymore since they've lost their purpose already. And the clothes are for you. It's not a good idea to walk around looking like a mist medic nin.

Naruto was right about both points he made. The katars had broken down leaving only the metal and leather arm straps intact while the blade had become extremely brittle and it was unwise to wear clothing that could easily cost his life. Haku then let the young blonde in as he inspected the broken weapon.

"What happened here? They were in good condition when we fought but after you used them, they've rusted away." Haku said as he touched the flat side of the blades only for it to break apart, leaving it fangless.

"That's because they're pure sodium. The only reason they didn't break apart was because I used chakra to reinforce them so that they wouldn't rust away quickly. But the moment I let go, the properties of the weapon began to mix with the air around me and break apart like now." The young blonde explained as he swept the broken metal parts and dislodged the broken remains of the katar from its hilt.

Haku nodded with a full understanding of the weapon. The young bishounen then took his new clothing from the young blonde and quickly put them on in his bathroom while Naruto inspected the room and saw the view from the window. It was splendid until he saw Mizore walking down the street carrying several grocery bags and into the condominium where Haku stayed.

"So she lives here. Most likely, she's with her father. That reminds me. I better get to Ichigo as well and get our sparring session underway." The young blonde said as he turned around to see the new outfit of Haku.

Haku kept his hair down and still wore his black choker. His new outfit was a sleeveless, buttoned up, black version of the chuunin exam proctors' military officer uniform over his chain mail. He also wore black shinobi pants that were tucked in his brown combat boots as a utility belt held his clothing in place. His hands were fitted with soft-padded, blue shinobi gloves.

"I'm not sure about this style Naruto-kun. It feels much tighter than my old one." Haku said as he inspected the outfit.

"It looks good on you Haku. Anyway, you can outfit the katar straps to have multipurpose functions at the blacksmith's place in Konoha. I can take you there if you'd like." Naruto stated as he began walking out the door.

Haku followed closely as he said, "Arigato Naruto-kun. I don't have much money with me so I'll just take a look."

So Haku and Naruto's clone marched their way towards the blacksmith's shop to see what they're selling.

As Naruto's clone got to work, the real young blonde was at the dango stand where he saw the black cat approach a man in a green and white striped hat eating some of the stand's delicious food. Naruto then sat down one seat away from the man as Sasuke and Sakura barely made it in time to listen in on Naruto's conversation from two tables away.

"It's great to eat dango on a hot day don't you think so?" Naruto said to the wild haired man.

"It sure is. I just arrived here and I'm really feeling the heat. Yoruichi thinks so as well." The man said as he gave the black cat a piece of dango. "Would you like some candy? I've been selling it like hotcakes here. Business sure is good lately." The wild haired man said as he opened his rucksack to reveal his prized candy.

Naruto's eyes widenend as he said, "Cool! What kind do you have?"

Sasuke and Sakura sweatdropped from what they heard as the man said to the young blonde, "Soul Candy. I've got five special ones that I brought with me. You want some?"

"Sure! How much are they?" Naruto asked as he fumbled through his pockets making Sasuke sweatdropped even more as he said, "He really is a baka. Buying candy at his age."

The wild haired man pondered on his prices. "Well, since they are hard to find across the land, how about twenty ryo a piece."

"I don't have that kind of money left. Is there any way I can get more for free?" the young blonde pleaded.

"You're not very good at negotiating but oh well. I'll just have to sell more to gain back the one hundred ryo total." The wild haired man said as he handed the special candy to the young blonde.

"But shouldn't it be two hundred total?" the young blonde asked making Sakura slap her forehead in embarrassment because of his stupidity.

"Nope, one hundred. You need to count more or else you'll get cheated on the next time." The wild haired man said as he paid for his dango and left.

Naruto then ate all five candies as he walked away and disappeared into the crowd.

Sasuke and Sakura felt like idiots after what they just heard. They followed him all this way for nothing and gained nothing in return except lighter pouches from the amount of dango they ate to stay there. The two then quietly left as Naruto, who watched from the rooftop of one of the buildings, left for his house as he thought, _'So only one hundred left are still on active duty despite being disbanded. Not only that, the five others are still about twenty miles from the walls of Konoha and they're all spread apart across the country. I have to contact them right away.'_

He then sat down on the roof of one of the houses and closed his eyes as he focused on the image of his friends from Soul Society and Karakura Town. He searched deep and focused hard until the mental link was formed and he could see their exact locations.

'_Oi! Ohayo! How's everybody doing?'_ Naruto exclaimed mentally.

Ishida, Sado, Inoue, Rukia, and Renji held their ears from the voice that rang in their heads.

'_Kuso. That teme just had to shout like a baka. Where the hell are you right now?' _Renji shouted back to the young blonde making Naruto smile knowing he had reached them.

'_It looks like he used Urahara-san's Soul trackers to get to us. That means Urahara-san made it safely.' _Ishida thought as he and Rukia got the same idea.

'_Naruto-kun! You're alive! Where are you now?'_ Inoue said to Naruto as she looked over a cliff and saw Konoha from a distance with Renji close by.

'_I'm in Konoha right now. I know we want to make up for lost time but please get here as quickly as possible. I need your help.'_ Naruto mentally commanded his comrades from another dimension.

'_We'll be there as soon as we can.'_ Rukia said as she and Ishida picked up the pace as well as Sado, Inoue and Renji.

Naruto reopened his eyes and nodded knowing that he had successfully made contact for the needed aid to his task.

"All that's left is to scout out the locations of the invasion and make preparations." The young blonde said as he jumped down onto the streets. But the moment he landed safely on the dusty ground of Konoha's streets, he felt the aura of his sensei just behind him.

The white-haired jounin never noticed Naruto's presence until the young blonde said to him, "What are you doing here Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi turned around with a wide-eyed look on his face. He calmed himself down and replied, "Wow Naruto. I never noticed you. You're getting better than I thought."_ 'He completely masked his presence from me. Was it on purpose or involuntary? But at least I know he's getting better.'_

The young blonde smiled as he placed his hands behind his head. Kakashi then remembered why he was there in the first place as he said, "Naruto, tell Sasuke and Sakura that we're going to meet up at the bridge again. I just need to do some errands and I'll see you there."

With that Kakashi left in a cloud of smoke as the young blonde used **Shunpo** to get to his teammates who were about to part ways at the corner near the bookstore.

"I guess I'll see you tommorow Sasuke-kun." Sakura said before turning around as Sasuke did the same.

"Leaving so soon?" Naruto said in between them while reading his black book.

The two jumped back and took a kunai in hand until they recognized it was Naruto who spoke.

"Will you stop sneaking up on us like that? We could've killed you!" Sakura shouted at him.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Kakashi-sensei wants to meet us at the bridge again. Who knows, he might want to enter us in the chuunin exams." Naruto lazily said as he tucked in his black book.

"I doubt it. But whatever it is, we have to go don't we?" Sakura said as Naruto nodded.

The two other genins eyed him carefully to see his next move. And as unpredictable as ever, Naruto turned on his heel and ran while waving goodbye. Both Sasuke and Sakura face faulted to the floor as they remembered how unpredictable Naruto is and could never predict his entry or exits.

When all three finally made it to the bridge, Naruto was busy reading his book while Sasuke eyed him carefully and Sakura just sat by the bridge, tired and annoyed. Sasuke couldn't take it anymore and quickly took the book from the blonde and began reading it. 

Naruto wasn't panicked though as Sasuke said, "It's the BINGO book alright. Why do you spend so much time reading this?"

Naruto then slyly replied, "Wouldn't you like to know? I read it for work and fun." _'Hehehe. Good thing I placed a genjutsu on it before he grabbed it.'_

Sasuke then handed back the book. He felt like a fool for even attempting to find out anything about the young blonde.

They waited for hours until like clockwork, the late jounin came with his smiling expression.

"Hello gentlemen." Kakashi said to them. "I got lost in the path known as life today…"

"A lie!" both Naruto and Sakura shouted at him with death glares to boot.

"Kakashi then moved closer to them and said, "I'll get to the point. I recommended all of you to the chuunin selection exam, so…" He then handed them their recommendation forms and continued. "Here take these applications."

"Chuunin Exam?" Sakura questioned as she received the form.

Naruto happily took the form and said, "What did I tell you guys? It was bound to happen one of these days." _'Oh, yeah…Hinata-chan entered too. What to do about that…'_

Kakashi then cleared his throat to get their attention once again before he said, "However, the recommendation does not force you to take it. You can decide if you want to take it or not."

Sasuke knew that this was his chance to becoming one step closer to getting to his brother's level of strength. Sakura on the other hand, was wary after the mission to Wave. But when she thought about it again, she realized that this could be her chance to protect Sasuke from harms way while Naruto was going over the plan during the chuunin exams.

Kakashi could see the fire in their eyes and knew that at this point, they were going to face the challenge head on.

The white-haired jounin then said to them, "Only those who wish to take it are allowed to sign the applications, and…five days after that, get to school by three pm and go to room 301. That is all." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke once again.

As the trio walked back to Konoha, Naruto was thinking hard and deep about the most crucial point of his life. He remembered how things went in his past life but now, so many other things were in play and he was the one to stop it. So many hurdles and obstacles pressured him and his shoulders as he tightened the clenching of his fists making his other two teammates notice and worry.

"Are you alright Naruto?" Sakura worriedly asked the young blonde.

Naruto snapped back into reality and grinned as he replied, "I'm fine Sakura-chan! I was just thinking about how many strong guys are going to fight in the chuunin exams."

Sakura nodded as that thought worried her. 

Sasuke pondered on what Naruto said and he too was anxious in excitement.

While the other two genins were preoccupied, Naruto was looking around aimlessly for a way to casually escape their eyes so he can head off and find his beloved and his friends from another dimension.

And as Kami would have it, Urahara was selling his candy by the roadside where the trio walked. Naruto took this chance and went up to the man and said, "Arigato for the candies. They were good! I ate all five in one go."

Sakura sweatdropped and crossed her arms as she said, "Naruto, I still can't believe you eat candies at this age."

Urahara then smiled as he charismatically said, "Nobody is too old for sweets. Even once in a while candy can be good. By the way, do want some? I have some chakra enhancing candy that'll do wonders for the body including shaping your already slim figure and bust."

Sasuke just turned around and said, "She doesn't need that stuff."

Naruto's devious mind lit up as he made a **bunshin **and placed a **henge** over it to show a sexier version of Sakura with a bigger bust size and more curves.

The clone then threw herself at the young Uchiha and seductively said, "But I like a bustier and sexier me. It makes loving you all the more sweeter. Can't I have some Sasuke-sama?"

Sasuke blushed as a lump formed in his shorts while a wild and enraged Sakura shoved her fist into the clone's face causing it to poof out of existence. She then reared her angry face at the young blonde as flames filled her eyes.

"**Kuso! You're dead Naruto!**" Sakura said as she gave chase to the young blonde. 

Naruto slipped passed her several times in place as he led her around in a circle before evading another rabid attack as he handed down the address to his house to Urahara without Sasuke or the enraged Sakura noticing the swift pass.

The young blonde then ran for his life and led Sakura into the red light district before she lost sight of him as he disappeared into the crowd. She was too pissed off to realize that she had ended up in the wrong side of town as a man accidentally bumped into her.

"Oi! Watch it you flat-chested bimbo!" the man shouted at her before he lost the light in his eyes when Sakura pummeled him and left the district enraged as ever.

Meanwhile, Naruto finally arrived at his house where upon entering, he noticed Yoruichi sitting in the couch in her full battle gear, Urahara setting up a very large flat-screen TV, and Ichigo in his human form with groceries in hand.

"Kurosaki-san, can you hand me the screwdriver over there?" Urahara said, pointing at the toolbox, arms length away from the wild-haired man.

"I'm busy right now. Can't you get it yourself?" Ichigo said as he went to the kitchen to refill the refrigerator.

"Heeeh. You're Naruto's housewife now? Suits you well Ichigo." The purple haired lady sarcastically said making Ichigo curse several profanities at her as Naruto sweatdropped.

'_Just the three of them and already it's getting rowdy. How much more when the others get here?'_ the young blonde thought as he checked upon the work of Urahara.

"It seems your old team is a handful. Too bad you can't be the captain of the troops this time." Urahara said as he fixated the last part of the TV in place.

"Without a keyboard and disc tray, we can't relay any info back to Soul Society or keep a close watch of the village. I doubt we'll be able to find one out here in my world." Naruto said, stating the obvious.

Urahara scratched his head at this point since the young blonde pointed out his obvious mistake. As the wild-haired man continued his work, Naruto went into the kitchen where he saw Ichigo finish stuffing the food in the refrigerator and wiping the sweat off his brow.

"So you got your human body because of Urahara-san. But it won't be very helpful when we do some sparring tommorow morning." Naruto said to the orange haired man.

Ichigo faced him and said, "Shut up. I needed my body as well. But I'll spar with you tomorrow. How did things go this morning?"

"Everything will be alright. I made contact already with the others. But I forgot to tell them where I live." The young blonde said as he prepared dinner for his dysfunctional crew.

Time passed by relatively quickly for them as Naruto spent his early mornings with Ichigo and Co. when not on missions. In daytime, he spent time with Hinata whenever he could to make her happier despite the fact that they had to keep their relationship a secret. During the afternoon, he'd be busy with searching all the information concerning better training methods and ways to find the balance between reiatsu and chakra and at night before he'd retire, he would patrol for any unusual activities aside from those that the ANBU can take care off.

The young blonde worked hard to keep in shape since he knew that the elemental god of wind, Byakko was ready for her freedom and it was very close that he could feel it in the very wind that blew over the forest where Naruto panted and sweat as he supported himself with his zanpakuto while Ichigo's mask just shattered and Yoruichi sat, leaning upon the broken tree of the battlefield that was their sparring session.

"Amazing Naruto. You lasted more than three hours in battle against us." Yoruichi said as she picked herself up from her seat. "And to think you're only using the twenty percent limitation of a captain on a mission."

Ichigo fell to the ground as he also commented. "Sheesh. You call that twenty percent! I felt like I was fighting Aizen and Ulquiorra at the same time."

The young blonde then sheathed his steel before it disappeared in a faint flash of red light as Inoue arrived at the scene.

"Ohayo everyone. The sotaicho wants to see us. He's on TV right now." Inoue remarked causing the exhausted three shinigamis to trek back to the living room of Naruto's house. When they arrived, Ishida and Renji closed the blinds as Sado gave them the OK signal that they weren't being watched as the old warrior's face shone upon the screen.

"Good to see that everyone is doing well. However, Naruto…" the young blonde paid even more attention at this point as the sotaicho furrowed his brows and said, "This is a grave crisis we have on our hands now that the elemental gods are awakening. You've been gone for eight years and your division has been disbanded for a very long time. Shuhei is busy gathering the division once again as we speak but only one-hundred stayed loyal to you so don't expect any reinforcements anytime soon."

They all nodded knowing that things weren't as easy or simple. They could handle an army of sand and sound nins, but against the armies of the elemental gods and the bosses themselves wasn't something they could handle alone.

The sotaicho kept his hard commanding face and said, "You'll need to handle things on your own until we can reopen the gate again. That is all."

The screen then shut off indicating that the team needed to move on and continue their work.

"So what now?" Ichigo said as the rest of the crew looked at Naruto for answers.

Naruto then turned on the TV once again and plugged in his GPS allowing a digital birds eye view of the village of Konoha appeared on the screen.

The young blonde then began the overall plan of the chuunin exams. "Okay. The chuunin exams will be filled with many nins of every village save the ones that have a grudge from the last Shinobi War. We can't move in until we have a full confirmation of their battle strategy. As much as possible, we need to keep things stealthy or else we fail altogether and many lives will be lost." The crew then sharpened their gazes at him as he grabbed their full attention. "I've already informed Sarutobi-oji-san about our plans and the other stuff I left out so he's aware of you guys but the other Konoha nins aside from Hinata don't know about you so keep in mind to hide your identities as much as possible so that we can keep focus on our objectives till the finals, which is…" the young blonde then pressed the zoom button on his phone to focus on the gates of Konoha. "The protection of the village. Urahara-san has given out his candies to the nins of Konoha so that they can live much longer when battle falls upon them but we need to make precautions and at least create a temporary barrier to keep the village safe long enough for the first line of defense to prepare for the worst. After that, we keep quiet and alert for any changes that could affect the scenario."

"That's it?" Renji asked. "I'm not the sneaky type, but can't we avoid all this planning and get straight to the source of the problem?"

"I agree for once." Ishida said, having many years of experience from battle.

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed as he said, "I too prefer to lop off Orochimaru's head but going to that point is suicide since he's already here and doing so will just raise unwanted suspicion _and_ create mass panic, which is the last thing we need since we don't know how, where, or when Byakko could appear and strike, so we stick to the plan. The plan is simple so that we can better prepare for the unexpected instead of a complex one where a slight problem creates more problems for us."

They agreed knowing full well what Naruto was implying. As morning began to shine even brighter, the young blonde then left his comrades to join his fellow genins waiting outside of the academy.

"Yare yare yare. Making the house the base of operations. We're pretty much at a disadvantage when Byakko rears her pretty head here. But knowing Naruto, he's got everything under control." Urahara said as he went back to work on the TV and finding a way to create a good disc tray and keyboard as Ishida helped him. The rest did what they do best…relax and stroll around Konoha.

When the young blonde arrived at the academy, he saw Sasuke was already waiting for him and Sakura had not come yet.

Naruto then waited a few more minutes as Sakura arrived on the scene.

"Sakura-chan, you're late." Naruto said as Sakura arrived by their side.

"Gomen. Ohayo, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said as she looked at Sasuke with a slight blush on her face.

Sasuke then huffed as he said, "Ohayo. Are you all prepared?"

Sakura smiled but inwardly rejoiced that Sasuke wasn't so anti-social anymore. Both the pink-haired girl and the young blonde nodded as they entered the academy doors.

Naruto then took out his black book as they entered the academy, climbed up the stairs until they saw a long line of nins being stopped from entering a certain door as a boy in green spandex, orange leg warmers, and a bowl cut with thick eyebrows being tossed out by two chuunins.

"It's a genjutsu used to weed out the weaker nins. Don't bother." Naruto stated to his two teammates who got the point.

The two chuunins bullied the poor boy and the rest of the nins as the roughed up boy was being tended by his teammate. She wore a pink, sleeveless, Chinese dress…green pants, blue shinobi shoes and her brown hair tied in two buns as she pleaded to let them through.

And just like her companion, she was harshly denied as she too, fell to the floor.

The two nins then began to ramble on concerning the level of difficulty of the exam for them to become a chuunin and how their rough ways were plausible because it was for the genin's own safety.

Sasuke saw this as their cue as Team seven walked up to the chuunins to pass through.

"That's a sound argument, but I will pass." Sasuke told the two guards. He then moved closer with his hands in his pocket as he continued, "And undo this field you've created using an illusion technique. I want to go to the third floor."

Many murmers in the back were heard as the two chuunins then said, "oh? You noticed?"

Sasuke then turned to Sakura and said, "Sakura, you should've noticed as well. Your analyzation skills and illusionary technique know-how is the best in our squad set aside Naruto."

Sakura was thrilled being praised by Sasuke as her courage grew once again.

"Arigato Sasuke-kun. You're right. I've noticed it already. Because this is the second floor." Sakura said while Naruto nodded without looking up from his book. This deactivated the genjutsu on the room sign as it returned to showing its true meaning.

The spiky haired chuunin then said, "You're pretty good. But just being able to detect it isn't enough." He then assaulted Sasuke with a kick while Sasuke tried to defend himself with a kick of his own.

The spandex wearing boy then quickly reacted and got between the two as he caught both kicks.

Naruto smiled from what he witnessed as he thought, _'That's Lee alright. I better make sure that Gaara doesn't hurt him.'_

'_He's fast! He blocked my kick. What's that Chakra in his arms?' _Sasuke thought as he gazed at the boy with interest.

"Hey, you broke the promise." Lee's stoic teammate said as he approached the boy. "You're the one who didn't want to gather attention by doing something that stands out."

Lee then gazed his dark, circled eyes at Sakura as Naruto and Sasuke stared at the boy with tension in their veins.

Lee then approached Sakura making Naruto chuckle as he turned a page on his book while Sasuke clenched his fist.

"My name is Rock Lee." The spandex wearing boy said. "You are Sakura-san right?"

This surprised Sakura as Lee gave her the nice guy pose and blushed while Naruto inwardly laughed at what was going to happen next.

"Let's go out together! I will protect you till I die!" Lee exclaimed.

Shocked was the pink-haired girl as she mumbled, "No way."

Lee felt heartbroken by this while Naruto kept his cool and kept a close eye of the surroundings as he finally was able to count he number of ANBU within the academy. Thanks to Naruto's information, many deaths would be avoided.

"You're too unique for my tastes." Sakura bluntly stated as she frowned, making Lee even more heartbroken as he bowed his head in defeat.

"Hey, you there." The stoic boy said as he gazed his white eyes at the young Uchiha. The stoic boy had the Hyuuga jacket, grayish purple shorts, and bandages on his right arm and left leg. He also wore blue shinobi sandals and a hitai-ate over his forehead that kept his long brown hair from covering his face.

"Identify yourself." The stoic boy coldly commanded Sasuke. 

Naruto knew very well who this boy is. He wasn't going to let up despite how much he wanted to hurt him for being such an arrogant jerk at this point of his life.

Sasuke then faced him and said, "You're supposed to introduce yourself before you ask."

"You're a rookie aren't you?" the stoic boy said. "How old are you?"

"He's old enough to know that he can be a chuunin." Naruto said as he continued his reading.

The stoic boy looked at him and thought, _'He looks familiar…I've seen him somewhere before… where in Konoha could I have seen him?'_

"You there. Identify yourself." The stoic boy said to Naruto.

The young blonde then replied, "Read the label on my shirt." The young blonde then tucked his book away as he showed them the hiragana on his black sleeved shirt. "It says Shiro Raikitsune. That's all you need to know."

"Show off." Sasuke said as he turned around to enter the stairs leading to the third floor as Sakura followed suit with Naruto behind as he tucked his hands in his pocket while the stoic boy gazed at the back of the young blonde with anger and annoyance.

As Team seven walked up the stairs, a black butterfly began fluttering around them with grace and beauty.

"So beautiful. I've never seen a black butterfly before." Sakura said as she gazed at the butterfly.

"A hell butterfly…here?" the young blonde muttered when he understood why there was one in the first place. Sasuke however, heard Naruto's words with his sharp ears.

"Did you just say a hell butterfly?" Sasuke asked the young blonde as Sakura looked at the young blonde with curiosity.

"Hai. That's what they're called. They say that they are the souls of the dead who have begun their journey into the afterlife. They're also an omen of death on whoever they land on." The young blonde replied trying to keep his cover intact.

When the hell butterfly landed on the young blonde's crown, the two genins distanced themselves from Naruto in fear of the omen making the young blonde sweatdrop as he shooed away the insect while his comrades back at his house laughed at the antics of the team of Naruto from their comfortable view on the TV screen from the eyes of the hell butterfly.

The young blonde was annoyed by the fact he had to make a plausible excuse for the butterfly that followed him as they entered a large hall in the academy.

Naruto stopped, making Sasuke and Sakura wonder what was wrong.

"What's wrong now?" Sakura asked of the young blonde.

Naruto smiled as he said, "Someone's following us."

Sasuke and Sakura looked around until they heard a familiar voice cry out. "You there with the sharp eyes, wait."

They turned around to see Lee standing by the balcony gazing at them with hawk eyes. Naruto smirked while Sasuke gazed at him warily as Sakura's eyes became wide saucers and she gaped seeing Konoha's Green Beast once again.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked of the spandex-wearing boy.

"Will you fight me right here and right now?" Lee said, getting straight to the point.

Sasuke sharpened his gaze at the boy and said, "Fight you right here, right now?"

"Hai." Lee said, leaping down to the floor. "My name is Rock Lee." The boy said to them. He then pointed at Sasuke and said, "You're supposed to identify yourself before you ask for someone else's name, right?…Uchiha Sasuke-kun."

"So you know my name." Sasuke replied as Lee got into his fighting stance.

"I would like to fight you. I would like to see how my moves will do against a descendant of the genius ninja clan." Lee said as he kept his focus. "Also," he said as he turned to face Sakura making the pink haired girl nervous and Naruto make his foxy smile as Lee continued with a blush on his face. "Sakura-san, I like you."

Sakura screamed in dismay and evaded several flying hearts sent to her by Lee's winks as the young blonde laughed on the floor along with his pet Kohaku, who leaped out of his hood.

Sakura angrily yelled at the boy, making Sasuke inwardly smile at the scene that unfolded before their eyes.

However, Sasuke was itching to fight him after what he witnessed a few minutes ago. "So you're challenging me knowing that my name is Uchiha? I'm sorry to say this, but you're ignorant. Do you want to see what this name of Uchiha is capable of, fuzzy eyebrows?" The raven-haired boy smugly stated.

Lee then went into his goken stance as he smiled knowing that he got the prodigy all riled up. As he focused on the match at hand, a certain young blonde decided to interfere.

"Wait!" the young blonde shouted causing them to divert their attention. "I'll fight the fuzzy eyebrows guy."

Sakura then told the young blonde, "Hey, don't butt in."

"Let him Sakura." Sasuke said causing the pink haired girl to look at him in astonishment as Naruto charged the spandex wearing nin at a pace that Lee could follow. And just like before, Naruto was easily dispatched.

Sasuke then took his stance knowing that Naruto, possibly the best in taijutsu among the team, was easily beaten.

Lee was happy seeing Sasuke's determination as the young Uchiha revealed his **Sharingan **before his opponent making Sakura gaze at Sasuke with astonishment and admiration.

The raven-haired boy charged at the stalwart Lee with his crimson eyes focused like a sniper scope to reveal the secrets of Lee's techniques that easily defeated Naruto. Yet alas, Sasuke was kicked in his chin causing him to fly in the air as Sakura felt a sudden drop in confidence, seeing Sasuke thrown off the ground as Lee jumped and went behind Sasuke.

'_**Kage Buyo…**_Sasuke thought as he saw Lee behind him from the corner of his eye.

"I will prove to you that hard work surpasses genius." Lee said as a part of his bandages on his arms unwrapped. Before the hardworking fighter could execute his technique, a pinwheel darted by and pinned his bandage to the wall, negating the attack.

"Stop right there, Lee." A red, giant tortoise said as a Konoha hita-ate hung around his neck.

The rest of the group looked at the tortoise as Lee fell back from his attack and landed on his two feet while Sakura ran to catch the young Uchiha. Naruto inwardly grinned as he quickly stood up and tried to do the same and accidentally tripped Sakura's leg in the process as the pink-haired girl fumbled but managed to catch Sasuke in the process causing her to fall into position with the raven-haired boy, lips to lips, once again. Sasuke quickly got up and desperately hid the blush on his face as Sakura did the same but touched her lips as she remembered how it felt like once again. She then licked her lips before blushing even more than before while her inner persona jumped with joy.

Lee yielded before the tortoise as the shelled animal scolded him harshly for his insubordination towards his sensei. Naruto knew already who the boy's sensei is from his past life and approached Sasuke to lend him a hand instead of gaping in surprise of the taijutsu specialist's skills.

"I bet you're wondering why you weren't able to copy his moves and defeat him." The young blonde told Sasuke who listened with intent. "If you look at his arms, you'll know that he is the type of person who trains non-stop to the point of certain death everyday."

Sasuke then looked at him with a puzzled expression allowing Naruto to explain much more deeply. "You see, his bandages are there to hide the several bruises and scars on them from training like a madman. He was able to defeat us both because he worked hard on one thing that it made him invincible in that area. His level of dedication makes us look like Shikamaru in class."

Sasuke then replied, "That doesn't answer my question. How come I couldn't defeat him even though I could clearly see him?"

Sakura then got the point much quicker than Sasuke and decided to explain to him. "That's because Lee trained himself to the point that even if you can see him, he still can move much faster than you can react."

Sasuke finally understood the point with Lee as Naruto lead the way to the room where they would participate in the first test and completely avoid seeing Lee and Gai's passionate moments together.

The trio walked along the corridors until they stopped when they saw the double doors of room 301 and Kakashi standing in front of the door to their future. Sasuke was thrilled to be at the door to promotion while Sakura was too nervous about entering the door to her future. However, the young blonde had a different emotion in his heart. It was grinding in his skull that this was the day he would change everything. He had prepared for this moment.

The young blonde thought for a moment as he recalled everything that had happened to him so far in his extended life. He looked deep into everything that has happened to him and each and every meaning of it in his existence. He remembered the pain that was thrust upon him and the consequences that came after.

Kakashi then looked at them lazily as he said, "I see, so Sakura came as well. You can now officially register for the Chuunin Exams."

Sakura and Sasuke were confused by what he meant. The pink haired girl then asked, "What do you mean?"

"To tell you the truth, this exam can be only taken in teams of three." Kakashi replied making Sakura even more confused.

"But you said that we could decide if we wanted to take it or not." Sakura said in utter confusion.

"Yeah, I did." Kakashi replied.

"You lied?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi then looked out the window and said, "Hai. If I said that, Sasuke and Naruto would force you to take it. Even if you didn't want to take the exam, if Sasuke asked you, you would try to take the exam anyway for Sasuke…and Naruto."

Sakura then asked of her sensei, "So what would have happened if only Sasuke-kun and Naruto came here?"

Naruto then replied for them. "Then we wouldn't be able to enter the exams anyway since we didn't all come together and I bet that Kakashi-sensei would stop us from entering to make sure."

Kakashi nodded in reply that Naruto was right. The one-eyed jounin then said to them, "But the three of you came here of your free will. Sakura…Naruto…and Sasuke…" the one-eyed jounin's visible eye turned into a u shape as he then said, "Well done. I'm proud of the three of you. You're my team. Now go."

The white haired jounin then stepped aside, allowing the trio and the hell butterfly that followed them closely, to enter the double doors and see the other teams gathered on the other side. Kakashi noticed at the last second the black butterfly and was a bit concerned but left it for now since it was in that room.

Sakura inwardly shuddered while Sasuke sharpened his gaze in seriousness to avoid looking intimidated while Naruto placed his hands behind his head.

Sakura swallowed hard when she gazed at the number of nins present until a familiar voice then shouted out, "Sasuke-kun, you're late!"

A bubbly blonde girl then threw herself at Sasuke making Sakura furious at her former best friend. Ino then blushed slightly as she continued. "I've been eagerly waiting for you ever since I heard that I could see you for the first time in a long time."

Sakura then hollered at Ino to get away but the blonde girl saw that warning as a challenge and began to make her set of insults at the pink haired girl.

"Oi. What? Are you three going to take this troublesome exam too?" Shikamaru said as he approached the group with his best friend, Chouji.

Naruto then replied, "Yup. I'm more surprised that you got you're lazy ass here. Did Ino force you to come?"

Shikamaru then lazily replied, "No, our sensei did. He bribed us to enter." 

The lazy genius did not show it, but he was eagerly watching Naruto. He never got to quench his thirst about the hidden agenda of Naruto. The young blonde wasn't an easy one to pry open, but because he was partially stupid, he just needed to be patient and strike when the opportunity presents itself.

Naruto then smiled as he looked to his left and saw team eight approach them making him happier when he saw Hinata once again as a slight blush formed on his face before it faded away making Shikamaru wonder why.

"So I see that everyone is here." Kiba said to them with a wild smile on his face.

Hinata blushed as she said, "Hello everyone. It's nice to see you again Naruto-kun."

Naruto then made his foxy grin as he said, "It's good to see you too Hinata-chan. How are you?"

The Hyuuga heiress smiled as she moved closer to him and said, "I'm doing fine Naruto-kun. The flowers have finally grown. They're really beautiful." She then brought out a picture of the Konoha Fire Lilies that grew in her garden and showed the photograph of the black and purple flower to him.

"They are beautiful. They haven't bore fruit yet right?" Naruto said to her.

"Actually, they did. I brought some." Hinata said as she brought out some of the fruits of the elegant flower. It was a semi-transparent white and round fruit that shone in the sunlight. It almost looked like glass if it were not for the fact that it was somewhat soft to the touch.

"Thank you for the seeds Naruto-kun. I never knew that you loved plants so much." Hinata said to him causing the young blonde to blush and Ino's intuition to run in overdrive as she approached Hinata and slyly said, "Ohh? And when did he give you those seeds?"

Hinata was a bit panicked but replied nonetheless. "I asked them from him." _'Bad move Hinata. That was very unwise.'_

Ino then gave her a sly smile as she said, "What else did you ask him? A date maybe?"

Hinata backed away as she then blushed two shades darker and poked her two fingers together as she shyly responded, "N-no! Of-of course not. I could n-never."

Naruto then blushed from what he heard as he said, "EHH?! Y-you want to go out with me Hinata-chan?"

The Hyuuga heiress played along as she backed away a bit more and said, "I…I…I…"

Ino understood her bewildered and shaken state and whispered into her ear, "It's alright. Whenever you're ready, just ask him." The blonde girl then left the two lovebirds as she returned to her team who seemed irritated.

Shikamaru then placed his hands in his pocket and said, "So you guys made it too? Geez…"

Kiba then said, "I see, so all nine genin rookies this year are going to take the exam. How far do you think we can get Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke then replied, "You seem to be confident Kiba. Has the last mission we went on together gotten into your head?"

Kiba then smirked and replied, "We trained like hell after that mission. We won't lose to you."

Naruto then asked Hinata, "How hard did you guys train anyway?"

Hinata then confidently replied to him, "We trained really hard. We pushed ourselves to the limits after that mission. I really wanted to get stronger so I gave it my all in training."

Naruto grinned as he said, "Wow, Hinata-chan! Are you confident that you'll pass?"

The lavender-eyed girl then shook her head and replied, "I'm not sure I can Naruto-kun. Otou-san and the rest of the Hyuuga clan say it was a mistake for me to enter…but I'll give my best."

The young blonde saw the fear and determination in her eyes and knew that she wasn't completely ready for this but was determined to see it through. He then inwardly frowned as he thought, _'She's strong at heart but not in body and mind. Not everyone can be strong enough to face the challenges ahead. But I'll do whatever I can to protect you and keep you safe Hina-hime.'_

"Hey, you guys." A man with long, sliver hair tied up in a low ponytail and round glasses over his brown eyes said. "You should quiet down a little."

Naruto sharpened his gaze at the man wearing a purple sleeveless shirt over a white undershirt, purple pants and armguards, a dirty white sash tied around his waist, and a hitai-ate with the symbol of Konoha over his forehead.

The young blonde knew the man to be Kabuto, Orochimaru's right hand man. He was as dastardly as the snake sannin and almost as powerful. He could feel his blood boil when he saw Kabuto but kept his cool and instead, glanced at the hell butterfly fluttering around and back at Kabuto, hinting his other friends of the man.

The silver haired man approached them and said, "So you're the nine rookies that graduated from the academy, correct?" the rookies stared at him in question as the man continued. "You're all fooling around with those cute faces…Geez, this isn't a field trip."

Ino then blurted out to him, "Who are you to tell us that?!"

The man then replied, "I am Yakushi Kabuto. Look around you…"

The rookies looked around as they felt the seriousness and intensity of the other participants within the confines of the room. Naruto wasn't surprised one bit since most of them wouldn't make it past the preliminaries. He looked around a bit more until he found the reiatsu of Gaara and his siblings in one corner and the team of Neji in the other.

Gaara smiled at him wildly as he sent a surge of killing intent directly at the blonde. Naruto felt the pulse and sent a pulse of his own making Gaara smile before Kabuto then spoke again. "The one's behind you are from Amegakure. They have a short temper. Everyone is tense since it's right before the exam. I warned you so that you won't get picked on."

Most of the genins were frightened except Naruto who was the most calm among them. Shikamaru and Shino, who saw his calm demeanor, were intrigued by his will to resist fear, but they knew that Naruto wasn't the type to be afraid of just anything.

Kabuto smiled when he saw their frightened reactions and said to them, "I guess it can't be helped though, since you are just rookies who don't know anything. It makes me remember the old me."

'_Old you my ass. You're a spy for that snake-teme who's after Sasuke for his body. __That didn't sound right.' _The young blonde thought making his tenant smirk.

Hinata saw the way Naruto was looking at the glasses wearing man and she knew that something was up. She too tensed knowing that this man Kabuto must be an enemy.

Sakura herself was skeptical of the man and asked him. "Kabuto-san, was it? Is this you're second time?"

Kabuto then replied, "No. My seventh time."

Shikamaru's eyes widened when he heard that.

Kabuto then spoke once more. "This exam only takes place twice every year, and it's my fourth year."

Sakura then asked him, "That means that you know a lot about this exam, right?"

"Yeah." Kabuto replied.

"So you must be an expert Kabuto-san." Naruto asked him with his eyes still as sharp as ever. This caught Kabuto's curiousity since the young blonde, during the whole time they were talking, hadn't shown any emotion of fear or anxiousness.

"But he hasn't passed it." Shikamaru lazily stated.

Kabuto then scratched his head as he said, "Yeah, that's true."

Shikamaru was worried at this point. "Is the Chuunin Exam that difficult? This is getting even more troublesome."

Kabuto then replied, "Maybe I should give my cute underclassmen some information then…" Kabuto then took out a deck of cards and fanned it in his right hand. "With these recognition cards."

The nine rookies were intrigued at this point so Kabuto decided to explain to them their purpose. "In simple terms, it's a card that has information burned into it using my chakra." Kabuto then placed the deck into the ground and continued. "I've collected information on this exam for the past four years. There's about two hundred cards total." He then took out one card and placed it face up to reveal it's blank face. "It looks white but… to get the information from this card…" he then began spinning it with his one finger making them question why he was doing that.

"It's made with my chakra so that you can't view it without my chakra." Kabuto said as he poured chakra into the card, revealing the map of the continent and a hologram of the scale of entries per country.

They were convinced now about his abilities and Sasuke decided to give it a test.

"Are there any cards that give detailed personal information?" Sasuke questioned him.

"Hai. Is there someone that interests you?" Kabuto asked him.

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgment. Kabuto then returned the previous card back into the deck and said, "The information of this exam's examinees are not perfect, but I've burned and saved them. They include the information of the nine of you as well. Tell me whatever you know about the people you know that interest you. I'll look it up for you."

Sasuke went ahead and asked as he became even more serious than before. "Gaara from Sunagakure…Rock Lee from Konoha and…Uzumaki Naruto from Konoha."

The rest of the rookies looked at Naruto and Sasuke in even more curiousity. Why would Sasuke want to know information from his own teammate? This question rang around Shikamaru's and Shino's mind.

The young blonde smiled and said, "If you wanted to know stuff about me you should've asked."

Sasuke paid him no heed and continued to face Kabuto. Shino and Shikamaru both looked at each other and practically had the same thought in mind…Naruto isn't who he says he is.

Kabuto then laid out three cards on the floor and said, "You know their names. Then it won't take much time."

The glasses-wearing nin then poured his chakra into the three cards and turned them face up.

"Let's see…Rock Lee. He's one year older than you. Mission experience, twenty D-rank missions and eleven C-rank missions. The squad leader is Gai. His hand-to-hand combat skills have increased dramatically this past year, but his other skills are terrible. He got everyone's attention last year as a skilled rookie genin, but he didn't take the chuunin exams. This is his first time taking it, like you. His teammates are Tenten and Hyuuga Neji."

"Hinata…are you related to Neji?" Sakura asked her.

Hinata nodded and said, "Hai. He's my cousin."

The rest of the team nodded how it makes sense now when they saw the same set of eyes on Neji.

Kabuto made haste with the next card and said, "Next, let's see Sabaku no Gaara…Mission experience, eight C-rank ones and…this is amazing! He did a B-rank mission as a Genin."

Kiba smirked and said, "So what? We did one too with Sasuke's team."

Team ten looked at him with wide-eyed expressions until Shino faced them and adjusted his shades.

"No way! A B-rank mission as a genin?" Ino said to Sakura who nodded in delight and replied, "It was scary but we pulled through. We even got to help the people of Wave country by doing that mission. I'll tell you the rest later after the exams."

Kabuto was curious at this point and said, "You guys were the ones that went to the country of Wave?"

Naruto then grinned and said, "Yep. What's wrong Kabuto?"

Kabuto then adjusted his glasses and said, "Well, it's just that, there was news of a genocide in a building complex near Wave. They said that it was the former headquarters of Gato, the multimillionaire. No one was left alive and were all killed. They were torn limb from limb while their guts littered the floor and blood, _literally_ painted the walls, ceilings, and floors. In fact, they found one man was stripped of his clothing and hung by his privates from the balcony until the wire that strung him, cut his groins off allowing him to fall and break his neck rendering him dead. But they found him to be dead already before he fell. Either way, it was too gruesome to be mentioned."

The nine rookies paled when they heard what happened there. Naruto however, paled because his handiwork was found out and that didn't bode well for him.

'_Great. It just had to be this way. But it's no surprise that Kabuto has info there since Orochimaru's spies are practically everywhere.'_ The young blonde thought.

Kiba, with utter horror, then said, "Oh, man…That must've happened after we left Wave. It must've been the rumored 'Orange Death' guy that's lurking around that area. We were lucky he didn't find us."

Naruto's tenant chuckled darkly when he heard that while Sasuke on the other hand held his mouth and stomach as he said, "Let's not talk about that anymore and get back to business."

Kabuto then began reading Gaara's card again. "He's a foreign shinobi and it's his first time taking the exam, so I don't have any more information on him. But…it seems that he has returned from all his missions unharmed."

"He must be really good to do that. We suffered a lot of wounds on our B-rank mission and there was a lot of us." Naruto told them making understand the gravity of the situation.

"Anyway, the last one. Uzumaki Naruto." Kabuto said as he turned up the last card to show Naruto's face on it and his statistics as well as small pictures of his teammates and sensei. Hinata was nervous that Naruto could get caught at this point and she could see him trembling slightly as Kabuto began reading the info card. "Mission experience…seven D-rank missions, and one B-rank mission…Skills in hand-to-hand combat are above average, decent in ninjutsu, no known abilities in genjutsu, but is excellent with weapons, particularly with swords. He also has seven confirmed kills."

They looked at Naruto in astonishment. Team ten was astonished the most since they weren't there to witness Naruto's fighting capabilities and see him kill first hand.

"S-seven kills? You're joking right?" Ino muttered out before she looked at Sakura and said, "Please tell me he's joking."

Sakura shook her head, making Shikamaru's drive to investigate Naruto become much deeper than normal. It was troublesome for him, but with all the suspicious information surrounding his existence, it was worth the try.

Naruto inwardly smacked his face knowing he was just a step away from being discovered.

Shino then noticed something odd with the information that Kabuto relayed to them. "I think your card has a flaw. Naruto has six confirmed kills. Four of which were chuunin level and two were ronins."

Shikamaru's eyes widened when he heard that as he thought, _'Now I know that something IS wrong. He took down four chuunins by himself. Never mind the ronins, but chuunin level nins are not something a genin can do alone, let alone Naruto. Is this really Naruto? He's holding out on us and it's too suspicious to leave alone.'_

All the other rookies looked at Naruto with curiosity and amazement. Not only was it astonishing that he had hidden talents and has killed already, but the fact that there was a seventh kill that they didn't know of but Naruto knew very well about the fake kill that kept Haku safe in Konoha.

Sasuke then smiled as he looked at Naruto making the young blonde sweat drop knowing he was in deep water this time.

"Good thing I asked him. You've been holding out on us this whole time. And who's the seventh person?" Sasuke said to him.

Hinata was even more worried than before since she didn't know how to help the young blonde this time. If she stepped in, it would actually hurt more than help and he didn't need any more messes than this.

Naruto was at a loss until he got a sly idea in mind and said to Sasuke, "Alright I give. The seventh guy was a big guy named Dodong who tried to rape and kill me one night after the mission to Wave. Man I hate okamas!"

Sasuke sighed in relief knowing that Naruto indirectly avenged his ass after the fiasco down at the gay bar that fateful night. Sasuke left his investigation there for now since Naruto helped ease the raven-haired boy's emotional pain.

And just as Sasuke turned around, Kabuto nearly got struck in the face by a sound nin with an unusual metal gauntlet on his right arm. Kabuto's glasses however, took the damage from the silent sound waves created by the metal gauntlet. Then again, Kabuto did take damage as he fell to his knees and was loosing balance as his eyesight became blurry and he threw up.

Sakura then ran to Kabuto's side to help him up but Naruto moved closer to Hinata while they were still in shock at seeing Kabuto take damage from the attack. The sound nin that Naruto knew to be Dosu Kinuta.

The young blonde then looked at Hinata and back at the scene that unfolded, telling her that they were enemies she took note of them and looked around for more of Orochimaru's spies while keeping close to her blonde boyfriend as Dosu gazed at Kabuto with hate and said, "You're not as good as I thought for a veteran who took the exam four years running."

The fiery haired sound nin known as Zaku Abumi to Naruto then smugly said to the still down Kabuto, "Write this in your card. The three from otogakure will definitely become chuunins."

"Hinata-chan…keep alert from here on out. Things will really rile up." Naruto whispered to her as Ibiki entered the room in a puff of smoke and shouted, "Quiet down, you punks!"

When the smoke subsided, Ibiki and his officers were seen standing before the entire crowd of genin participants.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I am the examiner of the first test of the chuunin selection exam, Morino Ibiki." The battle scarred man in the center of the group of officers said to them. The man then pointed at the three sound nins in the back and shouted at them, "You three from otogakure! Don't think you can do anything you want before the exam. Do you want us to fail you already?" _'Easy now, Ibiki. Even though they are the enemy, Hokage-sama's orders are absolute so don't do anything funny. Keep it cool and we'll be just fine.'_

Dosu decided to back away from the confrontation and said, "I'm sorry. I was excited, since this is my first exam."

Ibiki smiled seeing that he has gained control and then hollered out to the rest of the genins, "This is a good chance to say this…you are not allowed to fight each other during the exam unless given permission by the examiners. Even if the permission is given, you are not allowed to kill the other. Pigs who go against me will fail immediately. Understood?" no reaction came from the crowd making Ibiki even more confident. "We will now begin the first exam of the Chuunin selection Exam. Turn in your applications, take one of these number tags, and sit where the number tells you to. Then we will pass out the papers for the written exam."

Everyone did as they were told and took their seats. Naruto was confident this time since he knew the rules already. Instead of paying much attention to the proctor, he began plotting out the best way to gather the scrolls so that his team can pass the second test with ease.

"Naruto-kun…" a familiar voice said, snapping him to attention as he looked to his right and saw his Hyuuga heiress beside him with a smile on her face and a slight blush to paint her pale colored complexion.

"Hi Hina-hime. Looks like we're finally back together again." Naruto told her as he gave her a charming smile.

Hinata nodded and replied, "Let's do our best Kitsune. What kind of test are we going to face?"

"A cheating test." Naruto replied to her. "The questions are going to be too hard for genins to answer so cheating is the only option but you will lose points if you're caught. If you lose ten points, you'll fail and so will your team. And also, your total points, as a team should equal ten or higher. The last question will be a choice whether to quit or not."

Hinata nodded as the proctor explained the rules. It was exactly as Naruto said. Hinata trusted Naruto and knew that he was doing all right. She believed in him much more than she believed in herself. But little did she know how much _he_ believed in _her_.

When the proctor finished the explanations, he then ordered them to begin. Naruto didn't bother cheating this time and just left his paper blank. And to his surprise, so did the lavender-eyed girl beside him.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Naruto quietly asked of her.

She shook her head and said, "Not if you're not answering. Let's just wait and see what happens."

Naruto smiled and blushed after hearing her reckless remark. He then said to her, "You know Hina-hime, I haven't been able to train with you properly. I was hoping to take you out after the exams if you're up to it."

Hinata blushed but nodded as she thought, _'Wow! A real date with Naruto-kun! Then again we have been going out on dates already. One more wouldn't hurt….Yosh! I'll give it my best and win!'_

'_I really haven't been able to spend enough time with her since I was busy training with Ichigo and company. But I'll do what I can to make my date with Hinata special. I want her to be happy so I better do things right!'_ Naruto thought as he waited for the hour to end.

Everyone was giving it their all in the test. Many tried and failed and were caught. There was no way for everyone to pass the test. Despite the difficulty, they pressed on.

Sakura wasn't worried one bit about the test problems since she was used to solving difficult problems while Sasuke used his **Sharingan** to copy the wrist movements of one of the genins below him. The members of team eight aside from Hinata were cheating through the ways they did best, their familiars. However, Lee's team was also cheating from _them_ while team ten cheated through their own tactics: Ino's jutsu and Shikamaru's brain. However, Shikamaru wasn't just paying attention at the test. He was also paying attention at Naruto who seemed to be doing absolutely nothing yet kept calm.

The lazy genius then thought, _'The baka isn't doing anything yet he's so calm. Probably has no idea what to do. But Hinata isn't doing anything either. She isn't dumb that's for sure. She was practically racing against Sakura back at the academy. Why are they doing something so risky? There must be something I'm missing, but what?'_

The Hell butterfly that followed Naruto in earlier, fluttered through the room and caught Shikamaru's attention as it hovered over them and then over Naruto. The lazy genius then understood somehow a little of the reason as he thought again, _'I get it. That must be Naruto's way or Hinata's way of doing it. But they're taking a lot of time to make sure to get things right. I know now that Hinata is trying to get closer to Naruto so it's not so hard to believe that she'd help him. But still, it's as if they're doing nothing.'_

Soon enough, time flew by and Ibiki got their attention when he shouted, "Okay, I will now give the tenth problem!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened nervously to Ibiki's next words.

'_It's time. From here on out, I got to lead the team without hesitation.'_ Naruto thought as he looked at Hinata who also had determination in her eyes.

Ibiki then said to them, "Hai. But before that, there is one thing I must say…there will be one special rule for this last question."

And just in time, Kankuro came in with his disguised puppet. Ibiki already knew about his puppet and Kankuro subtly handed out a small canister to Temari before returning to his seat. Naruto was able to see it and knew that Kankuro was more than just taking the test. The young blonde then looked at the hell butterfly and back at Temari. The butterfly got it and knew what to do.

When everything quieted down, Ibiki then explained the last set of the rules. "I will now explain. This is a hopeless rule." Naruto inwardly smiled knowing how things will be from here on out. Though he didn't look like it, the young blonde was also a pro at torture and interrogation. When you visit the twelfth division of the Gotei thirteen often, you tend to learn the ways of torture and interrogation whether directly, or indirectly.

Ibiki then continued his explanation. "First, you are all going to choose if you wish to take this tenth problem or not. If you choose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero. In other words, you will fail. You're two other teammates will fail along with you."

Many complained about the stupid rule and decided to take it anyway since it's going to cost so much if they do.

"Now here is the other rule." Ikibi told them and continued the psychological torture. "If you choose to take it and get it wrong, you will…Lose the privilege to take the Chuunin Exam forever."

Many protested when they heard that while the young blonde just rolled his eyes.

Kiba then burst out of his seat and shouted at Ibiki, "What kind of dumb rule is that?! There should be those here who have taken the Chuunin Exam in the past!"

Ibiki chuckled darkly making Kiba sit in disgrace knowing he may have just lost his meal ticket out of this hell that was the first test of the Chuunin Exams.

"You were unlucky." Ibiki spoke in a dead tone. "This year,_ I_ am the rule. That is why_ I_ gave you the option of quitting. Those who are not confident can choose to not take it and take the exam next year and the year after that."

Sakura tensed as she realized the pressure that was pressed upon them. 

"Those who will not be taking the tenth question, raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, we will have you leave." Ibiki said to them.

Soon, many raised their hands and quit causing the room to become emptier by the second. Naruto was a bit worried by what he'll probably face during the Chuunin Exams but it was nothing to him. However, Sakura couldn't see his confident face and only his tense body.

'_Saying 'Hokage! Hokage!' like an idiot. Even if you are smarter than you look, you've never been one to be good at written problems.' _Sakura thought as she looked at Naruto's back. She sighed as she made a silly smile and thought once more, _'I guess I want to save your unrealistic dream after all.'_

She began raising her hand, which alerted Naruto's senses. Hinata also knew what Sakura was doing.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata said to the young blonde who nodded right away and quickly raised his hand and slammed on his desk and shouted, "Screw you! I'm not going run away! I'll take this problem. Even if I become a genin forever, I'm going to become a Hokage no matter what anyway!" the crowd was shocked from their stupor as the young blonde's eyes became a fiery cyan and he stood up and continued. "I'm not scared!"

Hinata felt the fire from the blonde infect her as well. She then stood up and with the fire in her eyes, she then confidently said, "That's right! Give your question! We'll take it head on!"

Much to everyone's surprise and Naruto's, her bold statement heightened the mood of everyone even further as the fire of determination infected everyone around the two as Kiba stood up as well and shouted, "I ain't letting Hinata and Naruto take all the action. C'mon! Let's hear it!"

Soon everyone was standing proudly with confidence and had a sharp determined look upon their faces.

Ibiki and his officers smiled as they saw the many brave candidates.

"I will ask one more time…" Ibiki said to them. "This is the choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit, now is the chance."

"I'm not going to take back my words." Naruto said with a confident smile and his eyes still a fiery cyan. "_That's my nindo_."

Ibiki looked at Naruto who still emanated a confident aura. _'Interesting kid. He wiped out everyone's uncertainty.'_ The man thought as he looked at the room and counted the number of participants remaining. _'seventy eight students eh? There's a lot more left than I expected. Looks like there's no point in waiting any longer.'_

"Nice determination. Then for the first exam, everyone here...passes." Ibiki told them causing a sudden uproar.

Sakura then got up from her seat and said, "Wait! What's the meaning of that? We pass already? What about the tenth question?"

Ibiki grinned and said, "There was no such thing to begin with. Or you can call the two choice question the tenth question."

"Hey!" Shouted Temari from the back. "So what were those previous nine problems?! It was all a waste!"

"No it's not." Ibiki answered and decided to do some more explaining. "The nine problems accomplished their purpose. The purpose to test each individual's information gathering skills."

"Information gathering skills?" Temari asked.

Ibiki then answered, " First, this test's true purpose lies in the first rule…your pass-fail decision is based on your three person teams. By giving that idea, we have given you an unprecedented amount of pressure to try and not be a nuisance to your team. But, these test problems cannot be solved by you genins. So, most of the people here must have come to the conclusion… 'I have to cheat to get points.' In other words, this exam _assumed_ that everyone was going to cheat. So we snuck in two chuunins who knew the answers to be targets of cheating. But those who cheated like a fool, failed of course. Why? Because information can have greater value than life at times, and in missions and battlefields."

The battle-scarred man then removed his beanie and showed the several holes and scars all over his head from countless battles with torture. The genins were shocked to see his scarred head as Ibiki then stated to them, "Information is contested with the lives of people."

Hinata shivered and covered her mouth as she turned to Naruto and asked, "Is he serious Naruto-kun?"

"I'm afraid so Hinata-chan." Naruto replied.

Ibiki then put back on his beanie and continued his detailed explanation. "The information that an enemy gets after being noticed by a third person will not necessarily be accurate. Remember this. Getting incorrect information can cause great damage to your teammates and village. So, we made you all gather information in the form of cheating. We kicked out those that were lacking in that field. That's what went on."

Temari was still skeptical about another thing and said, "But I still can't agree to that last question."

"But this tenth question was the main question of the first exam." Ibiki stated.

"What do you mean? Sakura asked.

"Let me explain." Ibiki said to her as he placed his hands in his pocket. "The tenth question was a 'take or not take' choice. Needless to say, it was a painful two-choice problem. Those who did not take it failed with their teams. If you choose to take it, and could not answer it…your right to take it would have been taken away forever. It was a very insincere problem. How about this two-choice problem…Let's assume that you have become a Chuunin. Your mission is to capture a secret document. The number of enemy shinobi, their armaments, and their abilities are unknown. And there maybe traps that the enemy ninja have set up. Now will you accept the mission or not? Just because your life and the lives of your teammates may be in danger, are you able to avoid dangerous missions? The answer is…No. There are missions that carry heavy risks, but cannot be avoided. The ability to show courage to your teammates when needed, and the ability to get through a bad situation…that is what we look for in a chuunin, a squad leader. Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation…those who give up when given the chance because there is a next year, and let their minds sway over an uncertain future…Fools who carry light determination like that have no right to become a Chuunin. That is what I believe."

The entire group took his word to heart when they saw the seriousness of his face as he spoke again, "I am saying that you here who have chosen to take it gave the right answer for the difficult tenth question. You can deal with the difficulties you will face. You have broken through the entrance. The first exam of the chuunin selection exam ends now."

Naruto then brought out his book and tore out a page and began writing on it as Anko made her debut through the window and a huge banner covered the section of the room where Ibiki stood.

"Everbody, there's no time to be happy." Anko said as the banner showed that she was the next proctor for the second exam.

"Everyone, I am Mitarashi Anko, the next examiner for the second exam. Let's go! Follow me!" Anko enthusiastically shouted.

Sakura and Sasuke sweatdropped in seeing the female version of Naruto take the room by storm. She then briefly explained the details of the next exam and dismissed the genins.

When the room was finally cleared, Ibiki began collecting the papers until he came upon two blank sheets with the names of Namikaze Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata written on them. He smiled as he said to himself, "Someone actually passed with a blank paper. Namikaze Naruto _and_ Hyuuga Hinata eh? Those names sound familiar. It will be pretty interesting this year." As he stacked the two papers with the rest, he noticed a torn paper on Naruto's seat and read what was written on it.

Dear Ibiki,

Keep an eye out for sound and Kabuto. They're up to something. It sounds crazy but for Kabuto to have info on every nin in the chuunin exams as well as detailed info on how many participants. It is not something of chuunin level.

Your friend,

Namikaze Naruto 

"He really _is_ an interesting guy." Ibiki said as he stashed the note in his pocket. 

And so, a new chapter in the young blonde's life has begun. And thus the chuunin exams have begun.

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I am pooped. I'll have to speed things up again. (Gosh I hate fatigue.) I have nothing else to say at the moment aside from thanks to NarProfiler, my beta for being so kind as to painstakingly correct my mistakes. Ja ne!


	21. Becoming the Bull

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: This will be exciting I guarantee it. I wasn't sure whether I should keep the prelims canon or deviant to my own discretion. But there will be a major Sasuke bashing and Fluffy moment for Naruto and Hinata.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 21**

_**Becoming the Bull**_

And so, the next day brought out the next page of the tale…

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It just hit noon as the great ball of fire in the sky sprinkled its rays over the remaining genin participants. They were just outside a rusted and wicked-looking fence near a large and eerie forest which was behind a steel cage that spelled out the demise of anyone who would enter the spooky-looking woodland.

The genins swallowed hard as they gazed upon the towering overgrown trees that comprised the forest within the barricade. Naruto took a deep breath of air amidst the nervous expressions held by his teammates as nostalgia filled his heart and mind as he looked at the forest that was once his home.

While the crowd was still petrified save for a select few, Anko then explained to them where in Konoha they where. "This place is where the Second Exam will take place. The forty-fourth training area…also known as the Forest of Death."

Naruto inwardly laughed as did his tenant when they saw the place.

**Gaki, this will be the most exciting time of the test. Especially, since the hunting traps are still present in this place. Much blood will be spilled today and tonight. **The fiery tenant of the young blonde said.

Naruto then mentally replied, _'Glad that I still had those traps around. This will be a blast!'_

But before the young blonde could delve further in nostalgia, he felt the presence of someone he didn't want to feel for a long time. He frowned when he turned around and saw a square box with two eyeholes cut out from it approach him.

The rest of the genins were puzzled by the absurd looking "rock" that approached the frowning blonde who then turned around and shouted at the box, "Hey, Konohamaru! What are you doing here?"

The box then replied, "I should have expected that from the man that I look up to. Good job detecting me."

With a flash of light and a sound of gunpowder exploding, Konohamaru and his two friends coughed their way out into the open to introduce themselves once again in their ridiculous sentai poses.

Naruto then lazily asked them, "What do you three want? I'm about to take the second exam in the chuunin selection. I don't have time to play with you."

Konohamaru then replied, "We didn't come here to play!"

"Yeah! We came here to get a story." Moegi added.

Naruto then scratched his head and replied, "So you guys are going to report on the Chuunin Exams."

The three nodded in delight until Anko shouted at them, "Hey, What are you doing over there?!"

Naruto then turned to the fired up lady and replied, "Konohamaru wants to do an exclusive for his school newspaper or something."

Anko was surprised by the turn of events. She then scratched her head and grinned. "Oh, yes, I forgot that Hokage-sama mentioned something like that." She then cleared her throat and shouted to the gathered crowd. "All right, were going to have a ten minute break now. If you are asked any questions, just concede and cooperate quietly."

Before the Konohamaru Corps could ask any questions from Naruto, he had disappeared into the crowd like a blade of grass among the grassy plain of greenhorn shinobi. Among the shinobi, Hinata took that as a cue and followed Naruto to a semi-secluded area as the crowd dispersed and began to be questioned by the Konohamaru Corps.

The young blonde then sat down upon the grassy plain. Hinata sat down beside him as well and smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to rest her head upon his shoulder. She enjoyed staying in his loving arms where he held fast around her waist. Though it seemed so casual for him, he was actually nervous of what he was doing as a blush pointed out his feelings on his face.

The Hyuuga heiress caressed her head upon his neck and asked him, "Why are you so nervous Kitsune?"

Naruto then sheepishly replied, "Ano…Hina-hime…I've never been this close to you before."

Hinata saw that he was lying through his teeth. She then flipped a lock of hair away from the back of his ears, and then, kissed that sweet spot that tickled her blonde lover.

"Yamero Hinata-chan! That tickles." The young blonde giggled as she smiled at him and replied, "Not until you tell me the truth."

She kept scratching that spot, causing him to lie down upon her lap in happiness like the way Kohaku would on his lap every now and then. He couldn't resist at this point and surrendered to her will.

"I was nervous because I was thinking about the Chuunin Exams." The young blonde replied as he lay in her lap while she listened earnestly.

The young blonde then sighed and said, "Actually, about a lot of things. I'm a bit worried about the Chuunin Exams because I don't know what could happen. I'm also worried that I'm not myself lately and I'm worried about you."

Hinata was a bit surprised that he had quite a bit on his mind. _'He's right about being out-of-character. I've never seen Naruto like this before.'_

Hinata then ran her hands through his blonde locks as he continued. "The Chuunin Exams already are dangerous, but I feel that I'm losing control and I don't know what to do. And…I'm also afraid of seeing you get hurt."

"But Naruto-kun," Hinata said, "Are you sure that those are all you worry about?"

She knew that there was more to it than what he was giving her. Naruto sat up and faced her as his face darkened. She felt disheartened seeing him so down. Never was he, the hyperactive blonde who has always been perpetually confident, so sad and defeated like a fallen warrior as he was now. 

The young blonde then said to her, "I…I…I don't know anymore what to do or where to go from here. Everything suddenly became hazy to me after all the things that I've been pulling. I feel like I'm losing myself in all this and there's no one to catch me."

Hinata then muttered, "Naruto…"

The young blonde didn't hear her words and continued to speak. "Everything is out of control and I feel like I'm making a lot of mistakes. I really don't understand if I'm on the right path. What do I do Hina-hime?"

She saw the earnest fear in his eyes as well as the dying flame within its azure color. She took his hands and placed it close to her chest and shut her eyes. He was still a bit stunned as she sighed but he gave way for her to guide him as a shepherd would for her sheep.

"Listen to your heart and mine." She said to him as she smiled. "You can feel your answers in your _heart_ more than you could in your head. Sometimes we just need to have absolute faith in _ourselves_ and others just like you used to before." She then smiled even brighter as she gazed her lavender eyes at his azure ones. "That's what I admire about you the most. Truly believing in people and yourself even if you don't know what to do or how to do it despite any obstacles."

"Hina-hime…" the young blonde muttered. He then understood what she meant. He then made a weak smile and nodded before his smile widened into a genuine one as he took her two hands in his and replied, "Arigato Hina-hime. You're more brave and strong than I expected. I wish _I_ was more like _you_."

"More like me?" the Hyuuga heiress asked in surprise. She shook her head and continued, "_I'm_ the one who wants to be more like _you_. I'm even weaker than my sister and helpless most of the time, even though I try hard not to be." She looks away, not willing to meet his eyes in her embarrassment.

The young blonde brought her head around to meet his eyes and replied, "Though you say that, you're a lot stronger than me. You believe and try your best even though it seems you can't. _That's true_ strength and faith. And to top it all off, never being proud or shouting it out like an idiot, like me. If that isn't amazing then I don't know what is, and it's because you're such an amazing person that made me fall in love with you in the first place."

He then placed his hands upon her cheeks and caressed them tenderly and lovingly before placing his lips upon hers. She quickly gave in and wrapped her arms around his waist as she allowed his tongue entry for deeper passion to ensue. They then, slowly but surely, released their kiss since time wouldn't allow them to continue much longer, much to their own dismay. 

She then chuckled and said, "It's ironic. You want to be more like me and I want to be more like you."

The young blonde then gave her a charming smile that made her weak in the knees. He then replied to her, "That's why we have to depend on each other like the sun and the moon and the Konoha Fire Lily and the flames that give it life."

Hinata nodded before blushed and smiling once again, showing that everything was all right. She then said, "We'd better go before they start looking for us." They both stood up and walked their separate ways in search of their teams.

As Naruto wandered through the crowd, he glanced at the edges of his vision looking for the hell butterfly that'd been tailing him the entire time. He looked around once more to make sure that no one was paying attention. Seeing that everyone was still leisurely using their break to replenish their strength, the young blonde then yawned and muttered, "Apparently, we'll be heading inside the Forest of Death. It's nice to be home for once. Especially since all my hunting traps and safe points are all over the place. Can't get lost in there since it's so dangerous."

Back at the Namikaze household, Urahara switched the screen to a bird's eye view of the Forest of Death.

"Switch the screen to Soul Society settings." Ishida said the to the wild haired man.

"What good will those do? We can already see if there are any sudden changes in reiatsu." Renji said.

Ichigo then spoke up. "I think it's a precaution because there might be some changes that could affect Naruto's mission and we might not see it properly."

Yoruichi was puzzled and said, "Can that even be done with this makeshift computer? And how is this thing able to run 24/7? You guys haven't shut it off since last week."

Rukia then answered her. "It's all because of that lightning rod that Sado installed on top of the roof. Naruto placed a new type of seal on it that channels and gathers the chakra particles in the air and converts it into reiatsu to power up the house-"

"Everyone, look!" Inoue said to them as they looked at the screen with the new settings in place.

Several places in the Forest of Death were glowing different colors, yet had a reiatsu thread that connected all the spots to a large tree near the tower at the center. They were surprised by what they saw.

"I see." Sado said as he looked at the monitor. "Naruto already placed traps all over the place so that he could get through with ease."

The rest of the team nodded as they switched their view to Naruto's team while Anko hollered out that their break was over. The genins gathered around the gate once more as they faced the ominous entrance.

The teams were a bit shaken by the air that surrounded the area. It was eerie to the bone as they gazed upon the huge and vast foliage that was caged in by the metal fence. A small sign was placed on it, forewarning any trespassers who would wish entry upon this murky place that death would be found here.

Sakura was frightened as she looked upon what could very much be the setting of her own death. "This sure is a creepy place."

Anko smiled when she saw their scared faces. "You will be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death."

Naruto then brought out his black book and began reading it and lazily said, "There's no point in trying to scare us like that."

Anko smiled again and replied, "Really?"

She then made a foxy grin and a kunai dropped from her right sleeve into her hand. She then threw the kunai past Naruto who didn't flinch from the thrown weapon that sliced the skin of his cheek as blood began to drip from the open wound.

Anko then reappeared behind Naruto and said, "Boys like you die the fastest."

Naruto inwardly rolled his eyes and thought, _'Spare me the lecture on death. I __**am**__ death for crying out loud!'_

Anko then held him by the other cheek and came closer to Naruto's wounded side and said with a foxy grin, "After spilling out that red blood I love all over the place."

She then began cleaning the blood from his face with her finger until she felt a sharp killing intent from behind her. She threw down her left hand and another kunai appeared in that hand. She faced the person behind her who had her thrown kunai in the person's elongated tongue as the person lifted the straw hat covering his eyes for Anko to see as her foxy grin never left her face.

"Here's your kunai." The mysterious man said.

Anko was keen to notice that this person wasn't normal. "Arigato, but don't stand behind me like that. That is unless you want to die young."

She then took the kunai back as the mysterious man that Naruto knew to be Orochimaru, retracted his tongue back in his mouth.

The young blonde then tucked away his book when he noticed that his nails had grown by reflex during the sudden entry of Orochimaru. He retracted the claws and then sighed in relief and thought, _'Gosh…If Zaraki were here, he'd be happier than Yachiru on a sugar rush with Anko around. But enough about that, I can kill Orochimaru now and save the trouble of having Sasuke betray us and the entire invasion plot go to waste.'_

The young blonde then began to play scenes in his head of what could happen if he killed Orochimaru right there: he could see the image form in his mind as he saw himself tearing apart Orochimaru with his bare hands as the fox cloak engulfed him. Everyone was then terrified and he was hunted down. Another scene played out in his mind with him bringing out his zanpakuto and having an all out battle with the snake sannin while several ANBU members came to sort out the mess as Kabuto held up Naruto's friends as hostages. Consequently the invasion starts earlier than expected. Many more scenes racked his thoughts and each one had a drawback with grave repercussions. Eventually, he decided on sticking with the original plan since it was the safest and would suffer the least casualties.

"Well, I get itchy when I see blood." Orochimaru told Anko as a devilish smile crept up his face. "Also, my precious hair was cut, so I got a little excited. Gomenasai."

Hinata gripped her hands tightly when she saw the whole ordeal and wasn't able to do a thing to help.

'_Why couldn't I move to help him?'_ the lavender-eyed girl thought as she worriedly gazed upon Naruto. _'I was too afraid to move. It was just like that time before in Wave when Kakashi-sensei saved me.'_

As the mysterious man walked away, Hinata approached Naruto and wiped the blood from his cheek as his wound healed.

"Arigato Hinata-chan. It's just a scratch though, so don't worry." Naruto said to her as Anko giggled. Ino was also giggling, making a devious plot in her mind to get the two together.

"It looks like there are a lot of hot headed people here today." Anko said with coy smile. "This will be interesting."

She then went back to her position in front of the cage and then faced the crowd to begin her explanation of the second phase of the exam.

"Before we begin the second exam, I'm going to pass this out to everyone." Anko said as she brought out a huge wad of papers from her trench coat.

The crowd was confused as to why they needed those forms. However, Ichigo and Co. knew why they were given those forms, as they were able to put two and two together.

Anko then continued her explanation. "These are consent forms. Those taking this exam must sign these."

"Why?" Naruto asked to keep his reputation of being a complete idiot in place.

"From here, people will die. Therefore, we will need people's consent before we continue. Otherwise, I'll be held responsible." Anko replied causing the crowd to shiver in tension.

Naruto smirked as and idea popped into his head. _'It's been a while since I've fought real targets to the death. But that consent form gave me an idea. What if you could sign your own death or the death of others when you write their names on paper?'_

**You've been watching too many 'Death Note' reruns gaki.** His foxy tenant replied.

'_At least I'm thinking of something.' _The young blonde said to his tenant. Realizing what it just implied, he continued,_ 'Sheesh. Since when did you get the idea that I watch that show?'_

**Since Rukia brought the entire anime series, the live action movies and the manga with her as well as her own Death Note notebook when she got here. I can still remember the episode when Light and "L" were handcuffed together to make sure that Light wasn't Kira. And I never knew such a story existed before, so it's either a fabric of my imagination or an outside source.**

Back in the Namikaze household, Rukia sneezed as she read Chapter 109 of _Death Note, occasionally glancing at the screen when the rest of the group made enough motion._

Anko then spoke once more. "Now, I will begin the explanation of the Second Exam. To be concise, you will go through an extreme survival match."

Naruto took the forms and began handing it out to the other teams.

Anko then opened a scroll and showed its contents to everyone. "I'll explain the training area's geographical features. The forty fourth training area is a circular region surrounded by forty-four locked gate entrances. There is a river that runs through forest and a tower in the middle. The tower is approximately ten kilometers away from each of the gates. Inside this limited space, you have to go through a certain survival program. The program consists of…" she then took out two more scrolls and said, "A competition where anything goes over these scrolls…The scroll of Heaven and the scroll of Earth."

Naruto then took out his black book and begun writing new lines of text as Anko explained the test.

"Twenty-six teams in total passed the First Exam." Anko said, catching their attention. "Half of those teams will get the Scroll of Heaven. The other half will get the scroll of the Earth. Each team will get one of these scrolls. You'll simply have to fight over these."

"And what's needed to pass?" Sasuke asked of the sadistic woman.

Anko then replied, "Bring the Scroll of Heaven and Earth to the tower with your teammates."

Sakura was able to see the plot in this exam and said, "In other words, thirteen teams, or half the people here that gets their scroll stolen will fail."

"But it needs to be done within the time limit." Anko said making the tension rise a couple of degrees. "This exam has a time limit of 120 hours or exactly five days."

"Five days?!" Ino blurted out in distress.

"What about food?!" Chouji blurted next.

Naruto smirked and said, "This is a survival and stealth mission put together. All equipment, food, clothing, and weapons are to be procured on sight while avoiding enemy shinobi. We're completely naked in that sense. Now this is my kind of mission."

The young blonde then chuckled darkly making his own teammates and the other rookie nine except Hinata, shudder in fear while Naruto's tenant had his head throbbing as he remembered where Naruto got those cheap lines.

**Gaki, you've been playing too much of Inoue's video games. Especially that one with the bandanna-wearing character who eats snakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner while avoiding soldiers in the forest.** Naruto's fiery tenant said to him.

Before Anko could explain anything more, a young black-haired bishounen clad in a sleeveless, black version of the first examiner's uniform. This one had pants of the same color, combat boots that secured the ends of the pants inside, a leather utility belt with several pouches, and a few kunai and senbon holsters around it. Metal greaves were strapped around his fingerless, black gloves, He wore a large Zanbato, almost the length of his height and a black hitai-ate with the Konoha emblem on his forehead and he leaped out of the forest, landing next to the sadistic woman as he fixed a black choker on his neck and his long hair covered his face while his nearly hidden brown eyes gazed at the crowd.

Many, if not all the women present to see the lad, were melting at their knees, their eyes becoming hearts. In fact, his sheer beauty made a couple of _men_ blush except for those who already knew him.

"Anko-san, I've inspected the forest as you've asked." The young bishounen said to the sadistic woman. "Aside from the several man eating plants and bugs, there are no problems at all."

The woman blushed a little when she saw him. "Good work Haku. You're doing well for a rookie chuunin." She then began to unbutton his shirt slowly as she said, "If you were only a few years older, I would've seduced you a long time ago."

Haku was a bit flustered and backed away and quickly buttoned up his shirt again. Naruto then sweatdropped and thought, _'Yeah…real nice way of showing restraint.'_

Haku then waved at Naruto and his team as well as team eight making Ino jealous that her rival and best friend knew him, while making others wary of their influence.

"Well then, I'll be headed back at my post in the tower." Haku said as he **shunsined** out of sight.

Anko then coughed to get their attention once again and continued her explanation. "As I was saying, people will get hurt in the process of fighting over a scroll. And those who cannot bear this program's strictness will emerge, as well."

Shikamaru then raised his hand and asked, "Excuse me, but can we quit in between?"

Anko then replied to the question. "As a rule, you're not allowed to give up during the exam. You will spend the five days in the forest." 

"Just as I thought." Shikamaru said as he sighed in regret. "How troublesome."

Ino was irritated and grabbed Shikamaru by the collar and hollered at him, "Oi! You better put your brain to good use and get us there as fast as we can so that I can spend at least the next three to four days with that drop-dead handsome chuunin."

Anko paid no head to the two genin's rants and continued. "While we're on the topic, here are the conditions that will fail you. First, a team that cannot bring both scrolls to the tower with all three teammates will fail. Second, the team that loses a teammate or produces an unrecoverable teammate will fail. Also, just as a note, you are not allowed to look inside the scrolls until you reach the tower."

"What happens if you open the scrolls?" Sasuke asked out of curiosity.

"Either a muscular okama or Gai-sensei will pop out naked and dance for you." Naruto said with sarcasm in his voice.

A lot of genins and a few of the chuunins present, except Neji's team, began chuckling and felt grossed-out by the idea. When Anko got over her own laughter, she then said, "That would be a nice prank, but what's inside the scroll is a surprise. You'll see when you look at it." When seriousness finally filled the air, Anko spoke again. "If you become a chuunin, you will be handling top secret documents. It's to determine your reliability. That's it for the explanation." She then pointed to a nearby hut that was stationed by three chuunin proctors. "We will exchange three consent forms for one scroll at that hut. And after picking your gate entrance, everyone will begin at the same time. And one last piece of advice." She sighed when she forced herself to say this. "Don't die."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he inwardly said, _'I already did. In fact, I am death incarnate. Can't I tell them that? The entire death threat thing is starting to bug me.'_

**Go ahead and sign your second deathwish.**

Naruto sighed as the crowd once again dispersed. He quickly wrote on his form and went to a secluded place and checked his GPS to see if his traps are still active.

'_They're still active. That's good to know.'_ The young blonde thought. He then yipped to his pet Kohaku that was perched in his hood to awaken. The young fox then leaped off and sat in front of the young blonde.

"So what's up?" the young fox asked of Naruto.

Naruto then gave him a three-pronged kunai and replied, "Bring this into the hollow tree near the tower of the forest. Go inside and stick it into the wall next to a bed there. There's a seal on that wall so it's not hard to miss. Make sure that the kunai sticks to the seal. Then head back to my position and tell me okay?"

The fox made an odd salute and then **shunsined** out of sight in a flash of fire. Naruto's tenant chuckled and said, **So you've managed to teach him how to speak and do a few jutsus during your training. What's next? Summoning him?**

"I need all the help I can get so he has to do his share." Naruto replied.

But as he got up, he felt a familiar presence behind him. He smiled and then turned around to see Hinata there all this time.

"Well, I hope we make it through Hina-hime." Naruto said with a smile.

"I'm sure we will Naruto-kun. I believe in you." Hinata said as she returned the smile and gave him a peck on the cheek for good luck. "I'll see you there in the tower."

Naruto smiled and said, "Heeeh? You're pretty confident Hinata-chan. Or are you just bluffing?"

Hinata then placed her hands behind her back and walked passed him while saying, "Maybe."

Naruto blushed as he saw her retreating form. _'Thank Kami-sama that she's getting more confident. Just a little more and she'll definitely break out of her shell. I'm glad that I have girlfriend like her.'_

Soon everyone gave their forms to the booth and had their scrolls. Team seven got their Heaven Scroll and made their way to the gate.

"So what's our next plan?" Sakura asked her comrades.

"We take things slow and steady." Naruto said to her while facing the forest. Only the chuunin guarding that gate saw his eyes flare into a cyan color. "Everyone will hurry to their deaths so we best take the route closest to the river since it's far too dangerous going straight through the middle."

Sasuke nodded and said, "That's a good plan if we were actually close to the river, but we're too far from it so we need to head straight anyway."

Seeing as there's no other option and considering time was of the essence, Naruto agreed with Sasuke.

And just like clockwork, the guards opened the gates and all of the participants rushed in. When Team Seven got into the forest, Naruto motioned for them to stop and fall back to the ground. 

When they landed, Sakura then asked Naruto. "What's wrong now?"

Naruto then sniffed the air and pulled out a kunai pre-wrapped with wire and threw it at a branch. It hit with a thud sound as a yellow liquid dripped to the floor from that location. The young blonde then yanked his weapon back and a human sized spider fell down at their feet startling Sakura.

"Slow and steady. I see the point now." Sasuke said as the young blonde began to dissect the bug.

"Sakura, Sasuke," the young blonde said to them. "Help me dissect this thing."

Sakura then hollered at him in revulsion, "No way am I touching that thing!"

"What's the purpose with dissecting it?" Sasuke asked him.

Naruto then surgically cut open the abdomen and extracted the ovaries and began carefully pulling out the gland that produces webs. While he got to his duty, he then answered Sasuke. "We're going to need to survive for five days. This type of spider actually answers all our needs. The ovaries can be used to start a smokeless fire. The web fluid has a certain smell that attracts the deer that live here. And it's also a good sleeping powder when dried up so we can use it on enemy shinobi. The venom is not harmful to humans, but when mixed with sap can make leaves and rocks even stronger than metal so we won't run out of weapons."

Sasuke smirked as he began helping out. "What about water?"

Naruto then replied, "There's a bamboo section of this forest just a few yards from here since this type of spider only lives in the wet parts of the bamboo forest where it lays its eggs in."

Naruto then gave a combat knife to Sakura and commanded her. "Take the knife and head off northwest to the bamboo forest there. Climb up and cut off the top of the branches and bring it back here. There's water in the shoots so be careful not to spill it. And make sure you cut diagonally so that it's easier."

Sakura then took off as Naruto collected the items he needed from the spider. He also made a makeshift container from a nearby branch for each item. Sasuke's curiosity was aroused by Naruto's survival skills. 

He then asked of the young blonde, "So how can I be sure you're not making this stuff up?"

Sakura then came in with a joyful expression as she said, "There's water in the shoots and it tastes sweet! I can't believe it."

Naruto then said to Sasuke with his own smirk, "There's your answer."

Naruto then cut the bamboo in a way that he could keep them like a canteen. When he finished, he then drained the dissected spider of its blood on a large stone nearby and the blood melted the rock with it's acidic content. The rapid dissolving substance that easily melted the stone shocked his comrades. Naruto then poured some of the venom on the dissolved, putty-looking parts of the rock and began shaping it into a sword. He then cut a portion of the tree and sap overflowed, allowing the young blonde to scoop it up and mix it with the molding until he eventually got the desired shape of a katana. He then ripped out the bark of the cut tree and wrapped it around the hilt to make the grip stronger and easier.

"Yosh. Now I have a weapon." Naruto said as he tested its sharpness on the tree. The poor tree was cleaved in half with ease like a hot knife on butter.

Sasuke and Sakura were even more shocked and impressed than before.

"Naruto…" Sakura said, "How do you know all these stuff? It's like you've been here before."

The young blonde then scratched his head and replied, "I love hunting and this place was my favorite spot to hang around during the academy days."

Sakura and Sasuke were jaw-dropped in utter astonishment.

Sakura then blurted out, "YOU HUNG OUT HERE IN THE FOREST OF DEATH?!"

"Yup! I know this place like the back of my hand!" Naruto said with a foxy grin plastered on his face. "This was my second home!" _'Seriously, it was. I wonder if Kohaku got to the treehouse already.'_

Sasuke shook his head and said, "No wonder you were so calm when we saw this place." _'But what kind of guy hangs out in the Forest of Death at six years old? He's either too stupid to know fear or he's hiding something, like always.'_

"I can't believe you actually spent your free time here in this scary place." Sakura said as they trekked onward while she strapped the canteens of water to her waist.

Naruto didn't respond for a bit as they walked slowly and carefully through the forest, following Naruto's lead.

"We have to be careful since I haven't taken down the traps I set up in this forest." Naruto said as they snuck their way through the foliage. "The traps were especially made for animals but a few shinobi might get caught in them so stick close to me."

Sasuke then smirked. "If that's the case, then we should get close to those areas. There's bound to be one or two teams there with an Earth Scroll."

Sakura then said, "Sasuke-kun is right. You _do_ have a map of this place right?"

Naruto then crouched low and snuck behind a tree, making his comrades do the same. He glanced through his right and left as well as above and pressed his foot on the floor to make sure that there was nothing underneath him. Seeing that all was well, he then dropped his guard and sat down as he pulled out a scroll that showed the map of the entire forest while his teammates gathered around to check the map.

The young blonde then explained to them the map. "These red colored areas are the places that the man eating animals live in. they normally stay put in one area but from time to time would travel around to look for food. These areas are also the places where their prey live so I set up my traps there. The yellow colored areas are the places that have herbs and plants that can be eaten."

Sasuke looked at the map and said, "It looks like there's a place not too far from here. We can wait up there for a shinobi team to enter."

Naruto nodded before returning the map into his jacket. He then formed a handseal and walked up the tree and into the nearby branch with his team following suit.

"You don't need to form handseals anymore to climb trees." Sakura said to the young blonde as they leaped from branch to branch towards their destination.

But little did they know that the handseal was actually a one handed seal for the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**. The clone moved in another direction until it found Kohaku and landed by the young kitsune.

"Everything is all set Aniki!" the young fox said to the young blonde.

"Good. Head on home Kohaku. I'll take care of the rest." Naruto told the young fox.

When the fox had left, the clone then went to a nearby tree and placed his hand upon its trunk.

He then said, "**Kaikin Fuuin…Kai!**"

An intricate seal, that was a mix of western and eastern design, appeared on the trunk around his hand. And in several other locations in the forest, began to have the same seal upon the trunks of trees as the main seal in the young blonde's former home began to reshape itself. When the clone could feel the reiatsu actively flow through the tree, he then made several handseals and placed his hand upon the seal and said, "**Kinkudo number five, Kanseirei!**"

Back in the Namikaze compound, the team of Ichigo saw several, white blinking dots on the screen of the TV as they viewed the overview of the Forest of Death.

"Looks like he activated the traps." Urahara said as he zoomed the camera on the several locations.

Team Ten was traveling on the ground while keeping a close eye upon their surroundings in vigilance of the impending dangers that would soon follow. Yet only one member of team ten didn't care much for the term "vigilance" as he sat down and opened a bag of chips to stuff his face.

"What are you doing Chouji?" Ino asked her plump teammate.

Chouji then replied, "Timeout. I'm tired. Actually, hungry."

"It's only been five minutes since it started." Shikamaru complained as he approached the boy.

Chouji then replied while munching down his food. "It can't be helped, since I'm hungry."

Ino then placed her hands on her hips and said with irritation, "If you have the space to bring snacks, bring an extra kunai or two!"

Shikamaru suddenly felt a presence fast approaching. "Ino, hide!" he said sharply and pulled Chouji into the bushes where the blonde girl hid as well.

And just in time, a team of shinobi from takigakure arrived at the spot. Shikamaru kept a keen eye on them as his team lay prone behind the bushes. But as the lazy genius looked hard, he realized that some of Chouji's chips were left in that spot.

'_Oh, crap. They'll spot us.' _Shikamaru thought.

But before the team of enemy shinobi could locate the trio, a black seal suddenly appeared beneath them. The huge spike in chakra filling the air caught their attention. However, their senses were much too slow as the earth beneath them decided to bite back and wrap around their bodies in a vine-like structure before digging underneath their skin. The unfortunate shinobi screamed for help but were unable to find any as the roots of stone and earth dug deep enough in their bodies to grab a hold of their bones. When the "vines" found the support to wrap around, they then pulled hard on the bones causing them to break apart internally, leaving the wailing shinobi paralyzed and bleeding to death as the stone vines receded back into the earth and the seal disappeared without a trace.

Shikamaru and his team were horrified by what they saw. They weren't prepared for the realities like this one as the red water began to paint the ground where the cadavers lay as the light from their eyes began to die out.

"That could've been us!" Ino blurted out as she shuddered in fear.

Shikamaru then left the bush to warily inspect the dying shinobi who could barely breathe from the internal hemorrhaging as blood slowly filled their lungs.

Chouji then pulled Shikamaru's collar to him and said, "Shi-Shikamaru…it's not a good idea…be-believe me…"

Ino then came out as well and said, "Chouji's r-right…what if you get caught too?"

Shikamaru had already left their clutches and inspected the dying shinobi as he foraged for their scrolls and items.

Shikamaru then replied to his wary teammates, "It's safe. Meaning that trap that came out of that seal was a one-time use type. Whoever created that trap is excellent in terms of seals and jutsu, but the question is…why weren't we affected?"

"Maybe there was a time limit before the trap activated." Ino responded as they checked the surrounding areas for other potential traps.

"Hmm…you could be right." Shikamaru said, buying the guess for now. _'But that seal looked like the wording in that book Naruto was reading. It wouldn't pass my mind if he made the trap. But if this is the true purpose of those words, then that means Naruto is much more deadlier than I thought.'_

But Shikamaru's crew wasn't the only ones to witness the trap as the same traps took down many more shinobi teams, albeit in different locations around the area. The sky was filled with the symphony of screams and wails of agony as silence ended each orchestra indicating their deaths. To those nearby, only their cries were heard and their cadavers, seen in a pool of blood. To the crew of Ichigo, they saw the horrible traps that led to the shinobi team's demise.

Rukia then spoke to the crew still watching, "Is it just me or is Naruto not holding back?"

They responded by shaking their heads as Kohaku entered the house and shouted, "I'm back! So who's winning?"

Ishida had veins throbbing on his head as he faced the young fox and responded, "It's not a game when there's people dying! Didn't Naruto teach you how precious life is?!"

The fox then lied to him. "Ya. He said that lives aren't precious until you make them precious. But those guys in TV are just screaming 'kill me' with their sloppy movements."

Ishida kept arguing with the young fox as the teams fought on in the forest. One team was making progress in the forest. 

Team eight then gazed at the handiwork of their traps as they saw the wounded and bleeding shinobi from amegakure lying prone on the ground with Konoha Leeches sucking their blood.

Kiba smirked and said, "The leeches in Konoha are able to detect perspiration and body temperature, and they jump onto the targets in groups. If they suck your blood for about five minutes, you'll die. We used their habitat to set up a trap for an enemy's escape route."

One of the nins tried to stand up but caught his hands on the trip wire around them causing them to be hauled up in a net trap as they dangled on the branches.

"One down." Kiba said.

Hinata then climbed up the tree that the enemy was slung in and carefully took the scroll from the enemy team. She then threw an explosive kunai into the net and scurried back down as the explosion overhead caused shattered and torn ligaments to rain down in several locations as blood rained on the floor.

Kiba and Shino were shocked by what Hinata had done though the latter of the two didn't show it.

Shino then asked Hinata, "Why did you do that?"

Hinata then responded, "The Konoha Leeches aren't normal leeches so you still feel the pain when they suck your blood. It is better that they would die a quick death than a slow one where they suffer."

Both boys saw the honesty in her eyes and the sheer determination fueling it.

Kiba then understood where Hinata was coming from with this and said, "You want to impress Naruto don't you?"

Hinata blushed at that making it painfully obvious of her second objective with the task she has performed. Shino then leaped back into the trees causing the team to follow as they leaped from tree to tree. While they were traveling, Shino's mind finally put the pieces together and understood why she was pushing so hard all this time. 

"Hinata…" Shino asked her, snapping her into attention. "Naruto only respects the strong and notices things when it is right in front of him."

Hinata sighed knowing full well what Shino was implying.

"Oi, Shino!" Kiba said to his stoic teammate. "Naruto maybe an idiot but he aint a badass."

"It's alright Kiba." Hinata said to the wild boy who turned to look at her in surprise. "Shino is right. Naruto-kun maybe foolish, but he's the person I want to be with the most and I need to do whatever it takes to reach out to him." _'That's right…He loves me, but what use is our relationship if we end up choking each other because of my weakness? I need to become stronger to be with him and to prove to everyone and myself that I am strong.'_

Back at Team Seven, Naruto sneezed as they took a whiff of their surroundings.

'_Someone's talking about me…'_ the young blonde thought as he looked around while he strapped the makeshift sword on his back. _'I wonder if it's Hinata-chan…'_

Team Seven had arrived at the location in Naruto's map where one of his traps lay. They looked carefully to make sure that no one was watching them while evading the spot where Naruto's trap lay.

"I'm nervous about this." Sakura said, as Sasuke looked around for anything else that was unusual.

But just like clockwork, Naruto felt the urge to do his other duty.

"I need to pee." The young blonde said as he marched to a nearby bush while widening his senses to seek out the hiding rain nins in the vicinity.

Sakura quickly struck his head as a vein throbbed on her head and her eyes widened into saucers.

"What are you trying to do in front of a lady?!" Sakura screamed at him before pointing elsewhere and saying, "Go behind the grass!"

Naruto rubbed his head as he walked towards the grass while saying, "Sheesh. It's not like you've never seen a penis before. Especially Sasuke's."

Sakura attempted to pound the blonde into submission as Sasuke held her back to make sure she didn't rampage through the forest in anger.

The young blonde then made a small smile as he located the chakra signature of the rain nin creeping up behind him as he relieved himself. When the young blonde finished, he then replied, "You know, I wouldn't be doing this if I knew there was some perverted okama wanting to rape me."

The nin suddenly felt a kunai pressed to his throat by a clone of the young blonde. The clone then grabbed his neck in a chokehold while keeping the kunai pressed causing the rain nin to lean back on the clone preventing him from moving or counterattacking.

Naruto then pulled up his pants and faced the nin with crimson slit eyes and a feral look of his youkai empowered state. The rain nin felt the stranglehold of fear gripping his soul as Naruto sent his killer intent to the nin and slowly increased its acuteness with every second.

"Where are your comrades? Tell me and I'll spare what's left of you." Naruto asked with a low, but sharp voice.

Before the nin could respond, the clone then stabbed the nin's right shoulder and dug deep until he managed to pop the bone off its socket. The nin failed to scream as the chokehold of fear from Naruto's killing intent and spiritual pressure tore his voice from his lungs. Naruto then lowered his killing intent and asked the same question again. The nin was too frightened not to comply and did so with fear in his voice. Naruto then nodded after. The clone knocked the nin out and the two dragged him outside the bushes.

Sasuke and Sakura were surprised that Naruto had an enemy nin with him but expected no less from the hardened killer.

The young blonde didn't need to explain and with Sasuke and Sakura's aid, set up the trap using the nin as bait.

The nin was strung up to a tree from his dangling, lifeless arm with bloodied wounds all over him. His teammates saw his condition and feared the worst. But when they saw he was still alive, they cautiously went over to the nin and cut him down. Kunai and shuriken suddenly flew at them indicating that it was a trap indeed. They leaped and evaded the traps with little difficulty until they spotted a broken trail heading north.

"Looks like they were in a hurry and didn't want to be followed." One of the rain nins spoke. But when they inspected their friend, he had reverted in a puff of smoke into that of the young blonde with an explosive tag on him. It was too late to run and they were blown to bits as their belongings flew to the trees before landing back on the floor.

"Yosha! The trap was successful." Naruto said as his team emerged from the bushes and foraged the belongings. Lucky for them, the Earth scroll was also in their bag.

"Looks like we passed." Sakura said as she took the scroll. Naruto then swiped both scrolls from her and took an empty scroll from his jacket and begun writing on it.

"Since when did you know how to seal items?" Sasuke asked with curiosity while keeping a keen eye on Naruto's actions.

It hit the young blonde like a ton of bricks. He was sweating in fear that he'd make a mistake like this. No shinobi of genin status was capable of sealing at this level. Even Tenten took a lot of time to learn sealing and this was a level that a genin wasn't capable of mastering quickly. Ichigo's crew who were watching from the eyes of the hell butterfly had no idea what was the problem but had an idea that there was trouble afoot.

Naruto then got another sharp idea and said to Sasuke with a foxy grin, "Just now! I've never tried it before so if something explodes then we'll have to look for new scrolls."

Sakura then knocked him hard on the head as Sasuke swiped the scrolls from his clutches and Sakura shouted, "Bakero! You're experimenting now in this time and place?!"

"Man I'm glad that you're Sasuke's girlfriend and not mine." Naruto said as he rubbed his bump making Sakura blush at what she heard. "Otherwise, I'd have a cherry demon straddle me like a pony while wearing a dominatrix outfit and not in the good sense."

Sakura was about to pound the young blonde once again but opted to swallow her anger in for a bit longer. Naruto then tucked away his empty scroll as he felt the presence of a very familiar fiend in the eerie forest.

The young blonde then quickly dug his hands into the ground and ducked, narrowly escaping the invisible cutting edge from the incoming wind that suddenly changed into a torrent. Sakura and Sasuke tried to do the same as Naruto but were caught of guard by the gust of wind.

When the smoke cleared from the dust caught up in the wind, three opponents stood in the center with straw hats.

The middle one of the three then said to his teammates, "You two go have fun somewhere else. I will go in alone from here."

Amidst the torn up ground, Sasuke was hiding in a bush with kunai drawn while Sakura was behind him and Naruto nowhere in sight.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura blurted out as she tried to approach him until he went into a defensive stance.

"Sakura, tell me something that only you and I know." Sasuke commanded her.

Sakura nodded and replied. "You and I ended up in awkward sex positions during our mission to Wave and you tend to talk in your sleep."

Sasuke blushed and said, "I still can't believe that I talk in my sleep." He then lowered his kunai as Naruto entered the scene.

"Hey everyone. Are you okay?" the young blonde said as he approached them.

Sakura then raised her hand out to him and said, "Naruto, wait a minute. We need to make sure it's you."

The young blonde stopped as Sakura asked her question. "What does my name mean?"

The young blonde then replied, "Cherry Blossom."

Sasuke then threw the kunai at the young blonde. Naruto deftly evaded the kunai and fell on his behind and screamed, "What was that for?! I'm right, right?"

Sakura then took out her kunai as they got into a defensive stance. "Wrong. Naruto never says that. He translates my name by syllable so that it translates as 'The Sand's Long Time Demon.'"

Sasuke then commanded the fake blonde, "Show your real self faker."

The fake blonde then chuckled darkly. "Kukukuku. I see." He then transformed back into the nin that returned the kunai of Anko back to her with his tongue. The man then said in a sinister voice, "I guess your bonds are much deeper than I thought. There's no substitute for that."

Sasuke then smirked and said, "You're a lot more dangerous than you show to pull something like that. But we won't fall for your tricks easily."

The fake grass nin then took off his straw hat and said, "Looks like I can have more fun than I expected."

Sakura kept ever vigilant as she pondered where the young blonde could be.

Naruto however grit his teeth throughout the whole attack and was pushed back into the treeline. Though he survived, his makeshift weapons and the resources he procured from the spider earlier were blown away. He then relieved his hands from the dirt and began inspecting his surroundings with crimson eyes ablaze as his birthmarks deepened. His hair became more feral and his fangs and claws grew. He knew that he had to move quickly in order to prevent Sasuke and Sakura from becoming the snake sannin's next meal. But unfortunately, it seems he is the one needed saving as a giant snake appears in front of him to turn him into _its_ next meal.

Naruto stood poised and ready as he got on all fours. He didn't flinch nor blink as the snake hissed at him with its head coiled to strike. And in an instant, the snake lunged at the young blonde. Naruto waited carefully for the timing and leaped upward and forward as the snake lunged downward. He was in midair to a front flip and placed his right hand on the snake's head and quickly created a **Rasengan** while his palm was still clutching the snake's headThe sphere of chakra bored both outwardly and inwardly causing the slithering creature's head to explode in different directions as some of its blood and skin stained the young blonde's clothing, leaving nothing more than a crater on the ground.

The moment the young blonde landed back on solid ground, he took out his GPS and called out to his team.

"I need a little help here." The young blonde said. "Where are they?"

Yoruichi answered on the phone, "They're heading into the trees, your left going north. If you hurry up, you can stop them."

Naruto **shunpo'd **to the location until he saw the stunned Sakura and Sasuke. The young blonde hadn't been discovered yet so he masked his chakra and placed a reiatsu cloak on him to further conceal his presence as he observed for the right time his teammates would need help.

Sasuke was shaken up by the killer intent that Orochimaru sent down their spines. Sakura was worse in that she had begun crying tears in hysteria from the killer intent that Orochimaru sent her.

'_This isn't good.' _the raven-haired boy thought as he gazed at his mentally stranded partner. _'We need to run!'_

Orochimaru was deadpanned at their frightened expression. "You can't move already?" the snake sannin callously asked.

Naruto knew that now would be a good time to enter the scene. He didn't have time to ponder on a plan. He **shunpo'd** a few feet away to the tree branch just above Orochimaru. He then converted his reiatsu cloak into his zanpakuto as it materialized into his right hand. But at the same time, Sasuke began to stand up with a kunai in hand. He was shaking but definitely tried to keep himself stable.

Orochimaru began walking towards them with two kunais in hand, prepared to throw them. "Relax, I will end it in a flash." The snake sannin said. "You won't have time to suffer."

Sasuke was still shaken up and Sakura was still too shaky to move as Orochimaru stopped a few feet away from the two genins. The snake sannin raised his arm to throw the kunai at the two when his instincts kicked in and leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding what could have been the blade to sever his arm from a downward slash. 

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened when they saw the young blonde suddenly enter with a sword in hand. 

The young blonde quickly shifted his weight to leap and glide towards Orochimaru to make a horizontal attack. Orochimaru threw a few kunai at the blonde, causing Naruto to deflect the kunai with his initial strike as he prepared the second horizontal blow. When Orochimaru was within range of Naruto's attack, the snake sannin, inhumanly bent his stomach back, avoiding the attack altogether and threw his fist at the young blonde. Naruto tilted his head to the side to avoid the fist but was caught off guard by Orochimaru's tongue that grabbed Naruto's arms and threw him to the tree with great force. Though Naruto, with his quick reflexes, landed on his feet on the tree, the trunk broke and he fell through.

Orochimaru then returned his gaze back to where the supposed other two genins were only to find that they had disappeared.

"I see. It seems we will have more fun this way." Orochimaru said as he leaped into the treeline to search for them.

And somewhere in that tree line, Sasuke had managed to rescue Sakura and himself from the danger as they sat on one of the larger limbs of the tree.

The raven-haired boy's breathing began to slow down as he removed his own kunai from his right leg.

Sakura then took out a small handkerchief from her pouch and began cleaning the wound on his leg, her own fear broken when Orochimaru was otherwise preoccupied.

"Arigato Sakura." Sasuke said, as he kept alert to whatever circumstance they might fall into.

Sakura was worried as well and said to Sasuke, "Good thing Naruto came in time to save us. I hope he's alright."

Sasuke nodded as he tried to get up. "For our sakes and his, he should." The raven-haired boy begun to stumble but Sakura helped him up and said, "We have to find Naruto and get out of here. We already have the scrolls so we should just run for it."

Sasuke then placed his hand on Sakura's mouth as he stuck to the wall before pulling her next to him as well. Fear could be seen in his eyes as they both kept silent.

Sakura begun to panic as well when she saw his expression. '_Sasuke-kun looks confused. I've never seen him like this before.'_ Sakura thought until a shadow begun to cover them from their left side. She looked and saw the giant snake.

She was more frightened than before and pulled Sasuke's arm away to warn him,

"Sasuke-kun, a snake!" she warned him.

Sasuke activated his **Sharingan** and saw the snake coming but was too close for comfort to escape as the serpent unhinged its jaws to clamp down on them. But before it could carry on its task, Naruto landed on top of it with his sword striking the snake's head and pinning it to the tree branch. He struck the brain dead center, instantly killing the snake.

The young blonde made a feral smile and said, "Yo! I made it back."

Sasuke was startled, but felt relieved that Naruto was the one who saved their sorry behinds. That warmth however was not to last long as the young blonde's face turned into seriousness and gave a cold stare at the cracking skin of the snake's remains behind him while he pulled out his sword.

"Sasuke, take Sakura out of here." Naruto softly commanded his companion.

Sasuke was still too rattled to think let alone move as fear paralyzed him when he saw the same mysterious man pop out of the snake.

"Prey need to strain their minds all the time and run around…" Orochimaru said with a sinister voice as he faced them with a murderous look in his eye. "In the presence of a predator."

Orochimaru then leaped out of the snake and swiveled his body like a snake down the upper part of the trunk and headed for Sasuke. The raven-haired boy then leaped to another tree along with Sakura and threw several shuriken at the snake sannin causing Orochimaru to shift directions. Naruto then charged into that direction and kicked Orochimaru in the face. Orochimaru then stumbled back, but not before grabbing Naruto's leg and throwing him into a nearby tree where another snake was summoned and had it's jaws unhinged and ready to swallow the young blonde.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted.

Naruto then made a **Kawarimi **and landed in another branch as the snake ate the log with an explosive tag upon it and it's head exploded in that instant.

Orochimaru then leaped into the same branch across Sasuke. The raven-haired boy gazed his crimson eyes at the sannin in agitation knowing that this battle wouldn't end so easily.

Orochimaru shifted his gaze from one crimson-eyed boy to the other. The odds weren't in his favor from Naruto's point of view. Naruto began to assess the situation in hopes that he would be able to end the battle quickly and silently since there was little chance of him defeating Orochimaru without drawing attention to himself.

Orochimaru assessed his odds as well and realized that he was outnumbered greatly but the odds were still in his favor.

"Naruto…" the snake sannin hissed. "You must have come here to show off by helping them, but don't get involved."

Sasuke then looked at Naruto and said, "Run. He's way above our level!"

Orochimaru then said to the young blonde, "Looks like you defeated my big snakes, Naruto-kun."

Naruto gazed hard at the snake sannin as he collected himself and his thoughts. He then began to mentally talk to Kyuubi about the situation.

'_Hey…what options do I have in defeating him?' _the young blonde mentally told his captive.

Kyuubi the responded, **Option One…Use your chakra to your advantage. But questions will come later. Option Two…Use my chakra to your advantage. Same consequence. Option Three…We do things the shinigami way. But still end up wreaking havoc.**

Naruto then smirked and mentally replied, _'There's still Option Four…Improvise like Shikamaru.'_

His tenant smirked indicating that he was all in favor of the young blonde's tactics.

Naruto then strapped the katana on his back, and gave a hard glare to Sasuke and said, "Sasuke! Whatever you do, don't hand over the scroll!"

Sasuke and Sakura looked at him as if he was insane while the young blonde placed his hands inside the sleeves of his shirt and touched the first of the three summoning seals on his right wrist and the second summoning seal of the three on his left. It wasn't seen, but Naruto had a kunai in his left hand and a shuriken in his right.

'_I gotta thank Otou-san again for teaching me how to create seals like these.'_ The young blonde thought as he picked his targets carefully. When everything was set in place, he leaped onto the branch That Sasuke and Orochimaru stood on. Orochimaru was still coiled and ready but Naruto had an idea on what to do at this point.

"Wait." Sasuke said as he deactivated his **Sharingan.**

Naruto knew what Sasuke was planning at this point. It was obvious in his eyes.

Sasuke pulled out the Heaven scroll from his pouch and said to the snake sannin, "I'll give you the scroll. Please take this and leave us in peace."

Naruto then faced the young Uchiha and sharpened his gaze at him. The poor boy was even more terrified when he saw Naruto's face. Naruto's features were almost indistinguishable from afar, but now that he was close, Sasuke could see his crimson slit eyes, deepened birthmarks and fangs that peeked out of his mouth.

"Hey, Sasuke! What are you doing?!" Naruto shouted to the raven-haired boy. "What are you trying to do by giving the enemy our scroll?" His voice this time was sharper and struck Sasuke deep.

"You shut up!" Sasuke said to his comrade.

Naruto then faced Orochimaru who then said to them, "I see, you're smart. The only hope the prey has from the predator…is to hand over something else to eat to save itself."

Naruto smirked as he gave a coy smile to the snake sannin and replied, "Predator my ass…you're not the type of predator to eat sacrifices." Naruto then shouted at the snake sannin. "You're the type to take no prisoners. I can tell by the look in your eyes that it doesn't matter if we give you our scroll!"

Orochimaru chuckled darkly until it became a laugh making Sakura shudder in fear from understanding while Sasuke thought back on Naruto's words. He was saved again by the young blonde's bravado.

Naruto then faced Sasuke and punched him causing the young Uchiha to fall back and nimbly land on another branch.

Sasuke then shouted to the young blonde, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Naruto then coldly said to him, "The baka and coward that I see now is not the Sasuke I know." _'Good. He's out of range of the attack angle.'_

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened at what unfolded.

Orochimaru licked his lips and lifted his left sleeve to reveal his summoning contract with the snakes on that arm. Orochimaru then nicked his thumb and ran his blood on the seal.

Naruto then ran at the snake sannin, armed with his kunai and shuriken. Orochimaru then made a few handseals and said, "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu.**"

Suddenly, a huge snake appeared beneath the snake sannin. The snake rose up and attempted to swat the young blonde down upon the branch. Naruto quickly ran under the branch and right back on top of the snake to face Orochimaru. He threw the kunai at the snake sannin but the enemy just leaped to another branch to avoid the attack. The snake underneath Naruto began to rise up and attack the young blonde. Naruto held on the snake with his chakra and ran up to it before it could coil itself to attack and thrust his hand into the snake's eye causing it to become disoriented and fall to the ground. Naruto then leaped off the snake and charged Orochimaru. He threw his fists and feet at the snake sannin who evaded and blocked the attacks before lunging a kunai at Naruto's exposed back. Naruto quickly shifted his weight and sidestepped, moving inside Orochimaru's defenses smoothly and gave the sannin an elbow to the heart. His hit manages to land and he grabs the sannin's kunai-wielding arm and rushes to a tree causing the kunai to become stuck on a branch. 

He then attempts to use his shuriken in his right hand, throwing it at Orochimaru's head. The snake sannin bends back and narrowly avoids the shuriken that flew and stuck to another branch. Orochimaru then lifted his foot and kicks the blonde upward. Naruto saw the attack coming and raised his arms to his face just in time to catch the kick as the impact sent him upward. While still in midair, he created a **Kage** **Bunshin** and the clone threw him to the side: the center of the attack range that Naruto had planned, before his clone puffed out of existence. Orochimaru then leaped out from his position and attacked the young blonde in midair from behind.

Sakura then screamed, "Naruto, behind you!"

Naruto smirked, forming a few handseals in a blur to the eyes. He then said, "**Katon, Enjou Sankaku no Jutsu!**"

Orochimaru was caught right in Naruto's trap. The three kunais stuck to the tree began to glow after Naruto made the jutsu, until an orange triangle of fire formed in between the three knives. Orochimaru and everything that was caught in between felt the burning sensation from the attack until the fire rose upward and caved downward creating a triangular prism of flames.

Sasuke and Sakura took cover from the searing heat, but realized that Naruto was still in there.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted once again.

"What?" The young blonde said from behind her with a foxy grin plastered on his face.

Sakura and Sasuke looked at the young blonde in astonishment.

Sakura then stuttered, "B-but Ho-How?"

Naruto then replied, "That was a clone. It's easy to hide in this forest so I used a clone for that one. But it still took a lot of chakra to do and I'm pretty much worn out even if I did go berserk back there."

Sakura was amazed and perplexed. _'That's Naruto when he goes berserk? But why is he so strong? I've never seen a jutsu like that before. It was well planned even if he did go berserk.'_

"Those eyes…I am sure of it now." Orochimaru muttered to himself. Naruto wasn't deaf to those words since his senses are sharper than the average shinobi.

The young blonde then pushed Sakura out of the way as a flame blown from Orichimaru came flying to the young blonde. Naruto then quickly dodged the attack and attacked Orochimaru again. The snake sannin summoned once again another giant snake as he stood on top of it. The snake lunged fast causing Naruto to be pushed out of the way. Its target wasn't Naruto, but Sasuke.

"You're next Sasuke." Orochimaru said to the wide-eyed raven-haired boy.

But before the snake could attack, once again, Naruto pinned the snake to the branch while he faced Sasuke with his crimson slit eyes.

"Hey, are you hurt scaredy-cat?" Naruto said as gave him a feral grin.

Both his other teammates were too shocked to say anything else. Naruto faced the snake while keeping the pressure of killing intent focused on the snake sannin.

The young blonde then said to his teammate, "I know what I'm doing isn't the smart thing since he's a lot stronger than us." _'By your standards at least. If we weren't in this position, I could've killed him much more quickly.' _"But it's the right thing. Bravery isn't the absence of fear Sasuke. But knowing that there are more important things than fear. I have something to protect. That's why I'm fighting this hard. What do you have Sasuke?"

This rang in Sasuke's ears over and over again as flashbacks of his parents and his team and his brother came into mind. After the Uchiha massacre, Fugaku was temporarily stripped of his rank for allowing his son to commit such crimes and the Uchiha Clan fell out of favor with the council. Thought he wasn't _completely_ responsible, he still played a part in it and was punished, while his wife was unable to bear any more children due to wounds she received from Itachi.

Sasuke felt ashamed and felt the pain of loss of his entire clan. His parents were spared, but the unbearable pain of loss was still there.

"Sasuke…" Naruto said, snapping Sasuke back into reality. "I'll protect you guys. I promise. Nothing has to happen like this. So I'll make sure that it doesn't happen. We have a future to protect. Not the past."

The young blonde then lifted his right hand from his grip and claws emerged from it, confirming Orochimaru's suspicions. The young blonde then dug that hand into the snake's flesh and began pouring yokai into the snake's body.

He then let go of his clutch and removed his bloody hand leaving the snake to thrash wildly in the vicinity from agony of the youkai that burned its body inside out.

Orochimaru then leaped into a nearby tree and speedily rushed to attack the young blonde with the elasticity of his body. Naruto saw this coming and brought out his sword and deflected the initial strke of Orochimaru's kunai. Orochimaru then grabbed Naruto's sword wielding arm and melted into mud and quickly cooled into solid rock. Naruto tried to pull himself free until Orochimaru appeared in front of him and with his five fingers from his right hand, glowing with an eerie purple flame.

"Kuso! Let me go Hebi-teme!" Naruto shouted at the snake sannin.

The Snake sannin didn't falter and sent his tongue to bind the young blonde's other hand while lifting the shirt of Naruto with his free hand to reveal the seal and said, "**Gogyu Fuuin!**"

He thrust his hand into the young blonde. Naruto screamed from the pain of the seal.

Sakura couldn't take it anymore and shouted to Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun! Please help Naruto!"

Sasuke then took out a kunai and stabbed his other leg and made the wound deeper and larger to make sure that he was awake. He rushed to the scene as Orochimaru dropped Naruto. Sasuke made haste and caught the young blonde in time.

"Thank goodness." Sakura said as Sasuke landed on one of the nearby branches while carrying the young blonde.

Naruto then suddenly smiled as if he wasn't even hurt. Sasuke was shocked and confused until Naruto transformed into a rock that crumbled and ebbed away.

"What?!" Orochimaru blurted out.

Insincts suddenly kicked in once again as he took out a kunai and blocked Naruto's diagonal slash from the rear: top-left going downward-right. The young blonde then moved forward as he let his steel scratch the side of the kunai. Orochimaru leaped to Naruto's right to avoid the parry to side slash maneuver that Naruto was aiming for. But instead, the young blonde gave the sannin an elbow to the face and a jab with the butt of the hilt to the neck. While the snake sannin was still staggering, he then reached his left hand inside his right sleeve and tapped the third summoning seal on his right arm. But what he pulled out was what Orochimaru never expected. The young blonde pulled out a three-pronged kunai with a seal written on the hilt. The young blonde then threw the kunai to the left shoulder, just above the armpit of the snake sannin and made a one handed seal.

'_Impossible! How does the Kyuubi brat know this technique?!' _Orochimaru thought as he flees from the scene. When he was far enough he pulled out the kunai with his other hand. But it was too late as he heard Naruto shout, "**Hado number four, Byakurai!**"

The lightning traveled through the warp portal and struck the kunai in Orochimaru's hand. The lightning bolt was powerful enough that it burned and exploded the snake sannin's hand and melted the fake skin he was wearing.

Naruto made a wild smile as he saw the pale and sickly skin of the snake sannin and his purple eyeliner and glowing yellow eyes. Orochimaru was cringing in pain as blood dropped to the floor from his stub of an arm while his headband lost its genjutsu and the insignia changed to that of sound.

Orochimaru then faced them and peeled the remaining burnt skin off as he knelt to the floor while coughing out blood from internal damage to the lungs, stomach, liver and a small portion of his heart.

Naruto huffed as he took a casual stance once again knowing it was over for now.

"You did it Naruto!" Sakura said as she approached him and Sasuke leaped back down beside him.

"It's far from over though." The young blonde said as he saw Orochimaru gaze at him with hate in his eyes.

Sakura and Sasuke were even more frightened than before when they saw his expression of malice.

Sasuke then blurted out, "Who are you?!"

Orochimaru then responded, "My name is Orochimaru. If you wish to see me again, get though this Exam as if your life depended on it like your friend here." The snake sannin then held what was left of his arm and grit his teeth since he still could feel the numbness of the lightning coursing his veins. "Naruto, you're a lot stronger than I expected. But you still have to face my subordinates, the three sound shinobi."

Sakura then shouted at him, "What nonsense are you chattering about? We never want to see your face anymore!"

The sannin then made a handseal and a clone of Orochimaru slithered behind them and attempted to plant his fangs on Sasuke's neck.

Naruto knew better and had a clone behind that one and his clone grabbed the nin's neck and sliced it with his katana.

Orochimaru grit his teeth when he saw what happened. _'Kuso! The Kyuubi brat is more than a nuisance. But I'll take care of you soon enough. You've become very interesting, Naruto-kun.'_

Orochimaru then leaped into the shadows and fell through the darkness. And just like that, Orochimaru disappeared as sunset indicated the first day had finished. 

Naruto sighed in relief when he could no longer feel Orochimaru's presence. But as tension dropped, so did Sasuke to his knees.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as she ran to the raven-haired boy with her heart ahead of her.

Naruto turned around and looked at the wounds in his legs and knew that he wouldn't be able to move for the rest of the night.

Sakura then helped Sasuke up and said to him, "Get a hold of yourself Sasuke-kun…come on!"

Sasuke stood up with his feet wobbling and bleeding from the deep wounds.

'_The wound was deeper than I thought.'_ Sasuke thought as he tried to break away from Sakura's arms and begun to walk until he collapsed again. Naruto caught him this time and the young blonde told him, "Take it easy Sasuke. You did good though and saved Sakura."

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura muttered as she helped him as well. 

Sasuke felt the bittersweet moment pierce his heart. Once again, Naruto proved to be more than a match for the enemy they faced. This made Sasuke even angrier at himself since he made so many mistakes that could've cost his team or worse if Naruto hadn't arrived.

The young blonde saw Sakura on the verge of tears and understood why she was sad and down. He then gave her his medical kit and said to her, "Sakura-chan, please treat Sasuke's wounds. This is something only _you _can do."

Sakura reluctantly nodded and began to clean up Sasuke's wounds. She first cleaned the blood and took out a cotton ball and dipped it in antiseptic and gently dabbing it on the open wounds. Sasuke flinched for a moment but calmed down when the pain became bearable. She then took out another jar from the kit and slowly poured the styptic on the deeper wound while Sasuke bandaged the smaller one on his right leg. When Sasuke could feel no pain anymore in the wounds, Sakura then pulled out the suture kit from the medical kit and stitched up his wound. She then cleaned up the residue blood and bandaged the wound tightly to keep the pressure for the blood to flow properly.

Naruto then placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder and smiled as she looked at him. "Great work Sakura. Let's head to safer ground." Naruto told her.

She nodded and took Sasuke on her back while Naruto made four clones to guard her front and sides while he guarded the rear and the last clone strayed farther from them to act as the rearguard while they traveled in search of cover and safer ground.

Naruto was estimating how far they were from the tree house as they begun traveling on foot in the darkness.

Naruto's senses became sharper as he lessened on how much he was holding back. _'Now that Orochimaru's injured, he won't be able to take Sasuke down. But Sasuke is still vulnerable since he wounded himself.'_ the young blonde thought as he saw the familiar tree that was their hiding place before the sound trio came and wreaked havoc upon them.

Naruto dispersed his clones and then walked underneath the roots and waved at Sakura to follow. She then placed Sasuke down upon the floor and he leaned upon the wall while catching his breath.

Naruto then walked out of the tree and begun foraging for food and taking note of the surroundings since they would be there for a while.

Sakura however was at a loss at what to do. All throughout the battle, she stood on the sidelines. Even in Wave, she wasn't able to do anything. All she could do was stand and watch.

She then sighed as she assed their situation. _'At least I was able to patch Sasuke's wounds. It wasn't so bad so he'll be able to move in no time. But Naruto won't be able to keep up after that battle. It must've drained him of most of his chakra by now so he needs to rest as well.'_

Sasuke saw the serious expression in Sakura's eyes and her hands begun to grip her dress even more tightly.

"Sakura…" Sasuke muttered to get her attention.

'_I have to protect them!'_ Sakura thought as determination settled in.

"Sakura…" Sasuke said much louder than before, snapping her to attention as she faced him.

"What is it Sasuke-kun?" Sakura replied.

Sasuke blushed a bit and looked away to peer into the darkness that only the moonlight could disperse. He then huffed out his frustration and replied, "Arigato."

The pink haired girl then made a small smile knowing that she made at least, a little progress in helping him. Sasuke was tired and stressed but more so, burning with anger and envy.

'_All I did was stand there. I could barely move. But how did he get so strong?'_ Sasuke thought as his hatred for himself begun rising.

He tried to stand again but Sakura pushed him back down and frowned. "Don't move again Sasuke-kun." She told him off. "You'll reopen your wounds if you do that."

Sasuke then shrugged and gently took off her hands and replied, "It's nothing. I can move just as much as Naruto can."

Sakura then grabbed a hold of him again and shouted, "Will you listen to me for once! Even Naruto has his limits. For your sake, rest!"

Sasuke resisted but every time he did, Sakura pushed him down to prevent him from doing anything unnecessary since she knew how stubborn he could get. He tried hard until he accidentally flung her arms out and she lost balance and fell right on top of him. She blushed from being in another awkward position with him. But Sasuke however was too frustrated to notice.

"Why are you doing this?" Sasuke questioned her with a bit of hatred in his voice.

She couldn't answer since she was at a loss for words or rather, could not give out her words to him since it would be personal and it could ruin their relationship.

"Oi! Get a room you two." Naruto answered to them while he crawled under the roots to meet them.

Sakura quickly got up and moved away while her blush remained. Sasuke then sharpened his gaze at the young blonde when he noticed that his sword was missing.

"Naruto," Sasuke said to the young blonde. "What happened to your sword? And what were those jutsus you used back there?"

Naruto then scratched his head and smiled as he replied, "It broke." Both Sasuke and Sakura's eyebrows rose when he said that. "I lost most of my stuff when that snake guy blew us away with his wind jutsu. So I looked everywhere and found that other sword among the dead bodies of a team nearby."

Sasuke didn't like the idea of things being too coincidental but he bought it for now since what he said could be the truth.

"And the jutsus?" Sasuke asked him as his gaze sharpened even further.

Naruto then replied, "Those were some jutsus I invented during my spare time."

Sasuke wouldn't buy it this time.

"I don't believe that." Sasuke, and to his surprise, Sakura also replied exactly the same words.

Sakura then placed her hands on her hips and said, "It's too weird as it is. You take down a giant snake with your bare hands and you expect me to believe that you invented that jutsu? I bet you made Kakashi-sensei teach you those jutsus on purpose."

Naruto sweatdropped seeing that he couldn't get out of this one without raising any more suspicion about his identity.

Naruto then sighed and said, "I give, you win. I did trick Kakashi-sensei into teaching me a few jutsus, but it takes up a lot of my chakra when I do them. So if you don't mind, I need to take a nap." The young blonde then lay down on the cold floor as he faced the other way.

Sakura then protested by replying, "How can you stay calm like this and joke around as if it's nothing?"

Naruto then turned to face her and replied, "How can't you? In times like these, we need to stay calm as much as possible. If you lose your head now, then you'll really lose it in battle."

He then quietly slumbered as Sasuke smirked and said to his pink haired friend, "Make's sense coming from him. But I'll keep watch."

Sakura then faced him and said, "No, I'll do it. It's the least I can do." 

Sasuke nodded and lay down to rest. Sakura then began making traps around the perimeter and stood guard over her two teammates. She stood watch over them after the traps were set. She was tired, but she endured as dawn rose in the sky.

Her eyes showed fatigue and her breathing became slower and slower. While Sasuke and Naruto slept peacefully, she kept awake as long as she could. As her eyelids felt heavier than the rocks around her, she fought in her mind for dominance. 

'_Don't sleep! I have to protect them…'_ Sakura thought hard. But eventually, she drifts off into slumber.

Her world began to crack until the pieces of background shattered into glass leaving an empty background. She pinched her cheek to wake up but found out that she couldn't properly awaken.

"Kuso, I'm in deep shit." The pink haired girl said to herself as she stood up and began to take in her surroundings. She noticed to the far right was an old style sliding door in a circular shape. Seeing that there was no other choice or way out of the dreamworld she was stuck in, she went to the door. But the moment she opened it, a blinding white light broke the darkness.

"Gaahhh!" she momentarily screamed before her vision returned. When she could see once more, she noticed that she had stepped beyond the door. What she saw on the other side was not what she expected.

All around her were old style Japanese castle walls, square, marble pavements, and black or orange tiled roofs and several ancient Feudal castles.

"I'm having the weirdest dream of my life." The pink haired girl said as she marched forward.

She wasn't used to the environment, as the air was slightly heavier than back in the real world. Most likely, due to stress in her subconscious. But one thing was for sure, she was nowhere near to waking up. She wandered through the labyrinth like alleys until she came upon a dojo complex that had the kanji for eleven within a black rhombus.

Her shinobi instincts kicked in and she hid behind one of the walls and saw several men dressed in black hakamas with swords strapped at their side wandering the grounds while some began to return to their posts in the complex.

'_They must be the guards.'_ She thought as she sneaked through a broken portion of the wall that looked like it was being reconstructed, and hid behind one of the mini gardens near the side. _'Why on earth am I dreaming about a place in ancient history when I could at least dream about me protecting Sasuke-kun?'_

Suddenly, one man came running in from the main entrance shouting, "The Fukutaicho is coming!"

All the other men begun to line up by the gate and bowed in respect as a little girl with pink hair and a permanent blush on her face entered the complex. She wore the same outfit as them except for what looks like a large shogi piece with the kanji for eleven strapped to her left sleeve. The little girl skipped her way inside as the men bowed in respect.

Sakura suddenly felt awkward and sweatdropped at the sight before her eyes from where she hid.

The little girl then moved towards the broken section of the wall and pouted. "Ehhh?! The wall's not finished? I promised Ken-chan that it's fixed before the sun goes down or no candy." The little girl said as she grabbed a large piece of the broken section with her two fingers.

Sakura was bug-eyed and jaw-dropped that she almost gave away her position when she saw the girl's inhuman strength. But when she saw the pale and sweating expressions of the other men that were still standing attention, she realized that this was no ordinary girl and she was fit for her position.

"Dream or not, I've got to get out of here." Sakura said to herself as she turned on her heel to run. But as she did, she bumped into a fairly large man with spiked, black hair and an eye patch over his right eye while having a large scar over his left. She fell on her behind and was able to get a clear view of the man. He was wearing a sleeveless version of the black hakama and a white, tattered haori over it. He also carried a sword on his right hand that had seen a lot of action from the wear and tear upon it. He was definitely a dangerous character and had a bark to equal his bite.

Sakura felt a wave of killing intent suffocate her. She was helpless as the man smiled and said, "Looks like we have a thief."

Suddenly, the men and the little girl gathered around and began to glare at Sakura. She was shaken up and dumbfounded at being discovered. The men around her began to call the man with the white haori taicho indicating he was of high rank.

Sakura swallowed hard as she thought, _'Damn it! I've been caught.'_

"Taicho! What should we do with her?" one of the wild man's subordinates asked.

The wild man then emotionlessly replied, "We kill her quickly. The old man's a prick when it comes to followin' the damn' rules. So clean up the mess like it never happened."

The wild man then raised his sword to strike down Sakura. She was frightened beyond belief. She never felt this much fear except for the time when Orochimaru attempted to take away their lives. Her hands began to shiver as she saw the blade began to fall down.

Her heart stopped in her throat as she thought, _'No! This can't be happening! Save me…Sasuke-kun…Naruto…Kakashi-sensei…anyone….'_

And as the blade came close to her skin, she shrieked. It was audible enough that she managed to wake up from her stupor. She was still wide-eyed and sweating from the stress of that nightmare. She looked right, left, behind her, above, beneath, and in front of her to make sure she was in the real world.

'_It was a dream.'_ The pink haired girl thought as she looked upward to see the sky. Dawn gazed its eyes upon the dark forest.

But silence did not follow it. The sound of rustling bushes snapped Sakura to attention as she took out a kunai and faced the bush behind her. Her hands where shivering even more than before as she took hold of the kunai in both hands to quell her distraught. But her eyes softened when she saw a squirrel had popped out instead. She frowned when she saw the squirrel moving in her direction.

"Geez, don't scare me like that." She said to it.

But her mind suddenly remembered something was threatening her and she threw the kunai just in front of the squirrel. It panicked and fled.

"That was close." She once again said to herself in relief.

Sakura then went back under the roots of the tree and saw Sasuke was still sleeping peacefully. She made a small smile when she saw him for once, happy. But Naruto on the other hand was restless and tossing and turning.

Sakura then moved closer to Naruto and noticed the sweat pouring from his face. _'He's having a nightmare.'_

Naruto was dreaming of the time of the battlefield during the war against Aizen. His division was providing backup and support for the eleventh division that was roaming the battlefield that once was, Karakura Town. Ever since Aizen managed create the Key to the Realm of Kami, he began mobilizing but needed to materialize the large object into the real world for him to get closer to Kami's realm. With that, he incidentally reveals the existence of hollows to the Karakura Town.

**Karakura Town – 1500 hrs.**

Karakura Town was pacing the only way it could…the normal way. The busy streets were bustling with people walking to and fro while traffic was abundant. Many things happened all at once but weren't too significant to drastically change the atmosphere. During this time of day, a man in a grey business suit with slightly wild, but combed back, short, strawberry red hair, was inspecting a crime scene where a shooting had occurred just outside a family restaurant. 

Several police cars and the surrounding area had become a small war zone with the skirmish that occurred between a small terrorist group and the SWAT team. Several SWAT team members were injured, but the terrorists were dealt with. 

A police officer that had just come back from inspecting the inside of the family restaurant saluted to the man and said, "Minoru-san, everything's been inspected as ordered. Everything that the terrorists had stolen from the robbery last Sunday was found underneath the toilet."

The detective then lit up a cigarette and pondered upon the case. _'Time flies by when you work like a slave. I need a vacation. Nothing happens around this part of town.'_

**Karakura Town – 1520 hrs.**

An explosion was heard in the alley behind the restaurant. Several police officers ran inside to check what out what went wrong. 

The detective then dropped his cigarette and pulled out his customized Beretta from his gun holster in his jacket and released the safety as he marched inside while he kept his aim with both hands. 

He made a small smile knowing that he still had work to do, but that smile turned to horror when he heard gunshots and several sounds of screaming enter his ears. He then ducked and leaned as close as he could on the wall next to the kitchen door, the screams coming from the next room. He then slowly pushed the door open while aiming with his gun in his right hand until an officer leaped out of the door with a missing left arm. The officer tripped and begun backing away with a ghastly look on his face.

The detective then knelt down to the officer and asked, "What happened?"

The scared officer then muttered, "Bakemono….bakemono…."

The detective couldn't understand what was wrong and asked again. "What do you mean monster? Answer me! What happened in there?!"

The officer then began to get hysterical and lost his voice as he looked at the shadowy figure that crept up behind them. The detective could see the deranged look in the officer's eyes and turned his head to see a lizard-like monster with a type of mask made of bone on its head and a hole in its chest. It was about nine feet tall and hunched over so as to fit in the room. Blood was all over its hands, tail, feet, and mouth indicating what happened back in that room. 

The lizard monster then lunged at the detective who leaped and rolled to the side next to the broken tables and chairs and saw the lizard-monster devour the poor man. Minoru then screamed, "Kuso! Die you fucking bastard!"

Minoru emptied his magazine on the lizard. The bullets hit the monster, but only bounced off its skin, leaving bruises. The monster, now agitated gave chase to the detective who ran outside in time to see similar monsters and some that were worse-looking rampaging the streets as they devoured the people caught in their path. They destroyed cars, buildings and everything else they saw fit for their savage, carnal desires.

Detective Minoru didn't have much time to assess the situation and ran to his car and drove off to the police headquarters. All around him, the same chaotic scene was everywhere. Blood painting places here and there, the same monsters with a distinct round hole on them wailing and wreaking havoc and mass panic as people ran for their lives. Some officers in the vicinity tried to fend them off only to face the same fate.

Detective Minoru could only pray that whatever was happening, was nothing more than a nightmare.

**Karakura Town – 1539 hrs.**

Everything was worse on Naruto's end in Hueco Mundo. He was in a showdown against Kaname Tosen while his division fought hard against the newly-powered Arrancar division due to years of experience in experimentation.

Naruto was panting hard as Shuhei collapsed to the ground next to him. Naruto was already in his bankai form with the kanji for "one" glowing bright red underneath his fox cloak.

Tousen then said to the young blonde, "What do you have to gain by stopping me here? Your world is being devoured as we speak and the ultimate justice will prevail."

Naruto then chuckled lightly and replied, "Absolutely nothing. But I got a score to settle with a leader who abandons his soldiers and nakama for power. Scum like you shouldn't exist."

Tosen then said, "Fine words but you're fighting on the wrong side. For the sake of peace and a better world, I will stop you right here."

Tosen then placed his left hand on the side of the ring on his sword and the ring spun wildly as a purple wave of reiatsu glowed from it. The ring began to grow in size until it was the size of his chest.

"Bankai." The blind traitor calmly stated as the ring split into nine rings that surrounded them in a large area before a black energy developed inside the rings and engulfed the two and the unconscious Shuhei inside.

Tosen then said to the young blonde, "**Suzumushi Final Style, Enma Koorogi**."

Naruto was thrust into a world devoid of senses. He knew that he was in trouble but it didn't matter to him. The blind traitor then made several cuts on his body but all the attacks were instantly healed by Naruto's accelerated regenerative powers.

"How do you like this world Naruto?" Tosen said to him as he continued his attacks. "This Enma Koorogi robs everyone within of spirit force sense, sight, hearing, and even smell and creates a pitch-black hell. The only one who can escape from this hell is he who holds this main part of Suzumushi."

Tosen then made another slicing attack, causing Naruto to fall on his face when he attempted to catch Tosen in the general direction he was being assaulted from.

"It's useless." Tosen coldly stated. "No matter how expert the enemy, once they suddenly lose the light, it is over…"

Naruto got up and made a devilish grin before he said, "Nibi…" 

The second kanji on his right arm began to glow, allowing newfound strength to fill his soul and a second tail to grow.

Tosen was wary of this newfound power but still found it beneath him. He then raised his zanpakuto to attack once more and said, "Futile. What use is power if you're blind of your surroundings."

Tosen then swung his sword but it was caught midway, surprising him.

"What?! How? This can't be possible!" He shouted as he backed away to allow some distance between him and Naruto.

The young blonde then gazed his crimson slit eyes at the blind traitor and begun walking towards him confidently.

"It must've been a fluke." Tosen said as he recomposed himself. He then ran behind Naruto to fire a kido spell but the young blonde suddenly grabbed him with his tails and threw him forward allowing the young blonde to catch him midway and slam him hard on the ground. Tosen groaned from the attack.

Tosen then asked, "How did you…"

"These tattoos aren't for show." Naruto responded. "Bankai allows the shinigami to expand a shinigami's powers or reach the next level. My bankai is powerful. But it costs as much as it gives so a limiter is constantly on my bankai in the form of these tattoos. They seal my powers and keep me at a level I can control unless I willingly decide to release them. The second release changes my reiatsu consumption from internal to external. And by that change alone, I was able to absorb the reiatsu output from your bankai and become one with the environment."

Tosen then grit his teeth as Naruto kept a good grip on Tosen's neck. The reiatsu of his fox cloak burned the blind traitors neck and made Tosen squirm in pain.

"Bakemono…" Tosen managed to gasp out. "What kind of person embraces the darkness foolishly?"

Naruto then replied, "I'm a shinobi. I was trained to live and fight in the shadows and darkness. What makes you think that I was the face-front blockhead like most of the shinigamis in Soul Society?"

Tosen then chuckled in between his gasps for air. "You're a strange one. I've never met a shinigami like you before. You willingly jump into the darkness and mold it as your weapon against creatures of the same affinity." 

"Ahhck!" Tosen screamed as the youkai burned his neck even further. "Not only that, you allow yourself to be consumed by it, all to defeat your enemy. Constantly gambling your life, but still blind of the cost to win."

Naruto then replied, "I've paid a good price to win this battle. So it's worth the risk."

As the young blonde raised his other hand to rip out Tosen's heart, the dark skinned man then gasped out, "You may have this victory, but at what cost? You fell for my trap and now your world is in shambles."

The dark world suddenly faded and Naruto saw Shuhei finally getting up. The young blonde was about to do his deed when a tug on his heart urged him otherwise. He then let go of Tosen and approached Shuhei and said to him, "Let's go help the others. I have a bad feeling about this."

Naruto and his fukutaicho then returned back to Karakura Town where they saw the devastation that made Naruto wide-eyed in fear.

**Karakura Town – 1543 hrs.**

Naruto and Shuhei walked through and saw the devastation. They were right on top of the roof of the police headquarters in Karakura Town so they had a clear view of the massacre below.

The police weren't fairing well and were being consumed like a lion preying upon a gazelle. Naruto was concerned about that, but what he dreaded more was that the people were actually conscious of what was killing them as Gillians and Adjuchas blasted buildings into oblivion and crippling many people underneath the ruins. This allowed the hollows to easily drag them into their mouths and infect their souls, creating more hollows. His division was fighting long and hard, but destruction littered the field in their wake from the war being waged. It was a real-time urban battlefield with bystanders caught in the crossfire. The shinigamis were outnumbered five to one. Though each shinigami was powerful, they weren't powerful enough to face all different classes of hollows all at once.

"This is really bad." Shuhei said as he observed the battle. "Were going to win but we'll have too many losses at the end."

Naruto clenched his fists in anger as his crimson eyes showed the rage building up inside. He then faced Shuhei and barked, "We're not having a pyrrhic victory today! Our priority is to keep the bystanders and the wounded safe so that we can move up and support the eleventh division who's battling the brunt of the army. Get my men to safety NOW!"

Shuhei then saluted and smiled as he barked back, "Hai, Taicho!"

Shuhei began to run towards the men as fast as he could and soon, the orders where given out. The shinigamis were evacuating along with victims and the wounded. Naruto then took this opportunity and leaped at a feral speed, that even **shunpo** couldn't keep up with. 

He quickly tore the head of one Gillian and threw it at an Adjucha near a lamppost. The Adjucha rebounded from the attack on his own two feet only to have it planted into the ground from the cement that held his feet because of Naruto's jutsu. Seeing that he got his opponent locked to the ground, the young blonde rushed inside the Adjucha's defense and ripped out its head as blood sprayed in a small fountain before the Adjucha's body and head disintegrated into energy.

He then used his two tails and grabbed a hold of two hollows and threw them into a telephone post that toppled upon impact, live wires sparking on the ground. Naruto then leaped up into the air and aimed his two hands down on the ground below and released water from his hands to rain upon them, allowing the electricity to burn them to the ground with electrical charges.

Naruto then made his trademark jutsu as the hollows concentrated cero and bala blasts at him and his clones. Naruto and his clones then absorbed the attacks and reflected the attacks back at the hollows. The hollows wailed as they were blasted by their own attacks. The surviving hollows were getting up, but Naruto took no chances as he quickly **shunpo'd** into the center of the fray and began forming handseals as he incanted words with each set of seals. "**Dominator. Mask of flesh and blood. All living things endangered. The path is open but cold. Level the earth and plague the sky. Let willpower become your strength. Kinkudo number twenty, Kyuuzou Sokatsui!"**

Naruto's fox cloak momentarily became blue and an explosion of blue energy flowed out of him and incinerated everything around him in a ten-mile radius. When the explosion ceased, he had burned to ashes everything around him. His fox cloak then returned into its shikai form as he gazed upon the battlefield. He was amazed with the output of power he just made but at the same time was horrified to see the burnt to crisp bodies of the bystanders who couldn't make it out in time.

"What have I done?!" Naruto screamed as he fell to his knees in guilt and shame of what had just transpired.

Naruto's division began to return to the spot where they saw the bright flash of blue light only to find a broken spirit that was their captain. Shuhei then softened his gaze at Naruto and called out to him. "Naruto…"

He still would not listen.

"Naruto…" the voice called out again but was distinctly feminine and no older than thirteen.

'_I defeated the hollows at the cost of the peoples' lives.'_ Naruto thought in complete despair.

"Naruto…" The voice called out once more but was softer and sweeter as well as warmer to the ears. At this point, Naruto was able to make out who's voice it was that called out to him.

'_That voice, it sounds like…Hinata-chan.'_

"Naruto-kun, hold on!" Hinata said as she shook him and held him close to her. 

She had just wandered into this side of the forest in search of water for her team several yards away until she stumbled upon the sleeping, but thrashing form of Naruto. That he was shaking and moving uncontrollably brought tears to her eyes. She didn't know what to do but did her best to wake him up.

Naruto was able to wake up from his walk back into his past due to Hinata's voice that repeatedly called for him. His eyes shot open as his crimson slit eyes gazed upon his surroundings before calming down back into the azure ones that contain so much fire and wisdom. He stood up and saw a teary-eyed Hinata sitting in front of him.

"Hina-hime? What are you doing here? What am I doing here?" he asked as he looked around and noticed the anchor seal for **Hiraishin** on the branch above him and understood what happened. _'I must have subconsciously used __**Hiraishin**__ to escape my past which caused me to move in the present.'_

Hinata then begun to wipe her tears but still was sad nonetheless to see him thrashing like that. "I'm glad that you woke up Kitsune. Seeing you like that was a nightmare for me."

She was still sniffing her tears and Naruto felt compelled to wrap his arms around her. He then made a weak smile and embraced her with all his might and said, "Arigato Hina-hime. You saved me." _'Once again, my princess came to my rescue. She helped me and stood by me.'_

Hinata then leaned her head on his shoulder and with sadness still in her voice said, "But all I could do was call you out and shake you but you wouldn't wake up." _'Once again, I mustered my courage but it wasn't enough. All I could do for him were the small things.'_

She intertwined her hands inside his jacket and embraced him back. He then softly whispered in her ears words that made her heart flutter with joy. "I'm glad you did. It shows how much you care for me and that means a lot to me. You're the most precious person in my world and I don't care what I have to do to stay with you." _'That's right. No cost is too great to see the smile on her face and hear her voice and her laughter. I'd pay any price just to spend at least a day with her. Because she's really worth all the troubles in the world.'_

Hinata then pulled away and looked at him with her lavender eyes, staring deep into his azure ones that reflected her image like a mirror, except with blue flames within. She felt the fire emanate from him and knew that he was serious.

"Really, Kitsune?" Hinata asked him.

He then softly held her cheeks and replied with love in his eyes, "Hai. With all my heart from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet."

Hinata smiled as he wiped the water from her eyes and pecked her on the cheek before letting go and smiling like an idiot.

The lavender-eyed girl blushed but smiled as well and thought, _'Thank Kami-sama. I know he's loyal, but hearing it personally makes me never want to ever let go again. I just wish we were older so that we can…No…I should prove myself to him first.'_

"Naruto-kun," Hinata asked with determination emanating from her. "What were you dreaming about?"

Naruto then looked back down making Hinata a bit disheartened but she stood firm nonetheless.

Naruto then took a deep breath and said, "I was dreaming about the time when I fought in the war against Aizen. It was horrible."

Hinata then replied, "I can only imagine. From what you told me before, it was a time of change for you since you were facing odds that threatened not only your life, but the lives of others as well."

Naruto then sighed and said, "Ya. The thing about war is, no matter what cost you pay or what you do, casualties will always arise and things always get ugly. In the end, you weigh the cost between what you did and what you fought for in comparison with what happened. Many lives were lost on both sides and I was responsible. That's why I changed so much because of what happened back there. During the war, I made a decision to become sharper and stronger so that no one has to die needlessly _or carelessly_ because I wasn't able to pick up the pace. In the end, I don't want to fail and lose lives because of my bad decisions. Everything counts and a lot of people were counting on me."

Hinata then replied, "You had so much to bear. You must have failed many times before you succeeded in accomplishing that."

Naruto then replied, "Ya. Too many that it caused many deaths because of my stupidity. But I knew that if I could grab the bull by the horns, then I could take it down. All I needed to do was become the bull and everything would be alright."

But as Naruto came to heads with his past, Sakura came to heads with the fact that Naruto had replaced himself with a log in his sleep and she was left alone with Sasuke along with the sound trio by the bushes.

Naruto fought hard and long until he became the bull that the enemy feared. However, do Sakura and Sasuke have the same capability in becoming the bull?

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Yahoo! It's done! After several weeks of writing and re-writing due to a broken pc and I lost the file when I was reformatting it, I finally finished it. I've been reading a lot of other fanfics lately and catching up with the anime and manga. But of all the fics I've read, the most heart warming one for me would be Evangelion: Re-Take. Any Eva fan should read it at least once if you're up to it that is. I've been watching some new anime as well and squeezing out ideas for the next plot in this fic and I came up with a few in my twisted mind. Oh yeah! That reminds me, Avatar is returning this April. I've always wanted to do a crossover of Avatar but that'll be later on after this fic is done. Anyway, I hope you guys love this chapter as much as I did burning my head in making it. And if you're wondering about Sakura's dream, it'll be explained later on. Ja ne!

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**Kaikin Fuuin(Prohibition Seal)- **A special seal made by Naruto using the language of the ancient tongue. Its uses are multiple but mostly to cut down time upon incantations or handseals so it can be activated on a whim.

**Kinkudo number five, Kanseirei(Pitfall of the soul)- **A mix of binding art and destructive art along with the element of earth. It grabs the opponent with roots of earth that bind them in place and break their bones causing them to collapse internally. It's only draw back is its allotted time before it activates when on long distances from the caster.

**Katon, Enjou Sankaku no Jutsu(Fire Release, Destruction by Fire Triangle Technique)-** a powerful jutsu that requires coordination to pull off effectively. The caster uses three 'groundwires' to form the triangle and all those caught in the middle would be destroyed by a flame within the boundary of the triangle as the flame shoots both upward and downward.

**Kinkudo number twenty, Kyuuzou Sokatsui(Blue Fire, Crash Down Explosion)- **Abandoning accuracy for power, it burns up whatever crosses it's field of explosion. It's power is intense, if not dangerous.


	22. Behind those Eyes

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: I finally decided the line-up of the prelims and decided to go with the canon line up. There will be a small twist but it brings the story along quite nicely. Thanks to staskon for the ideas. I really appreciate the help despite going with the canon instead. Mina, watashi no monogo no appudeto no watashi no okure wo miyousu ru tameni…Arigatou. Please forgive me if my Nihongo is wrong. I am still learning and open to any corrections in the structure and translation of the words. It's hard to translate words from Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, Hentaigana, Furigana, Okurigana, and Man'yōgana to Rōmaji and English. Especially the last four types of kana since their uses are a bit more specific. Not that I really need to, then again…ah, what the heck. Bahala na. Basta tapos na yung kwento. And once again, I'm using another language to vent out my frustrations. (sweatdrops before I recalibrate the language in my brain back to English.) Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 22**

_**Behind those Eyes**_

As the storm quietly rides in…

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'_It was a dream.'_ The pink haired girl thought as she looked upward to see the sky. Dawn gazed its eyes upon the dark forest.

But silence did not follow it. The sound of rustling bushes alarmed Sakura causing her to take out a kunai and faced the bush behind her. Her hands where shivering even more than before as she took hold of the kunai in both hands to quell her distraught. But her eyes softened when she saw a squirrel popped out instead. She frowned when she saw the squirrel moving in her direction.

"Geez, don't scare me like that." She said to it.

But her mind suddenly remembered something was threatening her and she threw the kunai just in front of the squirrel. It panicked and fled.

"That was close." She once again said to herself in relief.

Sakura then went back under the roots of the tree and saw Sasuke was still sleeping peacefully. She let out a small smile when she saw him, for once, happy. But Naruto on the other hand was restless, tossing, and turning.

Sakura then moved closer to Naruto and noticed the sweat pouring from his face. _'He's having a nightmare.'_

But before she could comfort him and wake him up, he had made a **Kawarimi** with a log.

She frowned and said, "He even does jutsus in his sleep! I don't know if that's good or bad." _'But by the way he was thrashing about, I guess it's possible to do jutsus in your sleep to escape whatever problems you're going through.' _

Before she could delve deeper and realize that the young blonde was missing, her sleepy eyes began to close as her body gained weight from the fatigue of lack of rest. Her senses dulled to the point where she didn't notice the proximity of the sound trio that had casually walked toward her location.

"Not sleeping and taking the watch for the entire time." Dosu Kinuta of the sound trio said causing her to reawaken and look towards the direction of the voice. Her eyes widened as fear gripped her body, petrifying her as she saw the team in front of her.

The sound trio coldly gazed into her fearful, emerald eyes. Zaku sat on top of a large boulder while Kin and Dosu stood two steps apart from each other with their hands leveled just above their waist to reach for their kunai just in case the pink haired girl made any sudden movements. Dosu saw the peril in her eyes and continued. "...but there's no need to do so. Can you wake Sasuke-kun? We want to fight him."

Sakura quickly recognized them and grit her teeth as she thought, _'These guys are…those sound genins from earlier.'_

She then slowly reached for another kunai from her holster as she stood up and made eye contact with them. "What are you talking about? What is your purpose? We know that a guy named Orochimaru is behind all of this."

The sound trio was taken aback by her words. Their master was working behind the scenes with his own agenda making them confused as to what his plans were.

Sakura still kept a steely aura around her and continued to question them. "Why did Orochimaru attack us and what does he want with us? And now, you want to fight us again after you did this to us?"

Dosu then replied, "I wonder, too, what is that person thinking?"

Sakura didn't like the sound of his words and Naruto was still nowhere in sight while Sasuke slept like a log.

Zaku then made a small smile and said, "But now that we heard that, we can't ignore it. I'll kill this girl too. I'll even kill the Sasuke guy."

Zaku stood up from his perched position to approach Sakura until Dosu said, "Wait, Zaku."

The hunched nin then cautiously moved closer and knelt down on the grass and said, "How unoriginal. The color of the dirt indicates that it has just been recently dug up. This grass doesn't grow here."

Dosu then pulled out the fake grass from the ground in front of him making Sakura grit her teeth a little more as he continued. "There's no meaning to a trap if it isn't made well."

Zaku then smirked and said, "How dumb."

Dosu then stood up as Zaku spoke. "So she threw the knife so that the squirrel wouldn't get caught in the trap."

Dosu then tilted his head to the side and said, "Let's kill her right away."

The three sound nins then leaped up hoping to gain the advantage over the pink haired girl who quickly reacted by cutting down the wire attached to a kunai, stuck to the ground next to her. A log then came swinging in to smash the sound nins head on.

Dosu quickly held the log in mid-air with his right hand and made a handseal with his left. Sound waves quickly, but silently burst from the metal gauntlet in his right hand and obliterated the log.

Dosu then said to the girl below, "To be blunt, you have no talent at all. People like you need to work harder!"

Sakura was on the verge of tears at the sudden realization of her death approaching until a green blur leaped in the middle of the airborne sound trio and shouted, "**Konoha Senpuu!"**

The green blur kicked each of them in an arc, causing them to fall back on the ground away from Sakura and the sleeping Sasuke.

The green blur then landed right in front of Sakura in the all too familiar Goken stance with a squirrel on his right shoulder and confidently said to the sound trio, "Then the three of you also need to work harder."

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Elsewhere, the young blonde then stood up as he heard Kiba holler out for Hinata. The Hyuga heiress sighed knowing that their time was up and that they needed to get a move on to reach the tower in the middle of the enormous forest.

Naruto then reached in his jacket pocket and took out his GPS and zoomed in on the location of his teammates on the pink cellphone and grit his teeth at the extra number of reiatsu signatures close to them.

"Kuso! I need to get back." Naruto said as he tucked in his phone once again.

Just as he was about to leave, the lavender-eyed girl hooked her arms around his neck momentarily to reach her face close to his and gave him a small kiss.

"Be careful Kitsune. I believe in you." Hinata said to him.

Naruto then nodded and **shunpo'd** out of sight and towards his team in dire need as Kiba entered the scene with Shino behind.

The dog boy then asked Hinata who still had her back faced to them, "Where were you? I've been calling out for you since a while ago."

Hinata then turned to meet her team with a smile on her face and said, "I was just admiring the view."

Shino then replied, "You were thinking of Naruto again." Hinata nodded with a blush on her face. The bug user then turned around and replied, "We should keep moving. We're just a day off from the tower."

Hinata then nodded and with determination in her heart, she followed her teammates towards the tower while thinking, _'Naruto-kun, I'll wait for you. Gambate Naruto-kun.'_

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Dosu and his crew stood up to assess the young boy in front of him.

"Who are you?" the bandaged man asked.

Lee gazed his wide, dark circled eyes at the sound team with brows furrowed and replied, "Konoha's beautiful blue beast, Rock Lee!"

Sakura was confused as to why he appeared to save them. "Why are you here?" she asked.

Lee then confidently replied, "When you are in danger, I will appear at any time."

He then gently lay down the squirrel for it to leave the soon to be battlefield. As the squirrel ran off, the sound trio tensed and sharpened their gaze to face the lone warrior.

Sakura then told the focused Lee, "But right now, I am your enemy too."

Lee then replied, "I told you before…that I _will_ protect you till death."

Sakura then bashfully thanked him as Sasuke started to move restlessly in his sleeping state.

Dosu then took out his Earth scroll and said, "We have no other choice. Zaku, I'll give Sasuke-kun to you. I'll kill these two." The bandaged man then tossed the scroll to Zaku who caught it and stowed it away.

Sakura then tucked her left hand inside her back pocket as she rummaged through the remainder of her belongings. Lee begun judging the situation and thought, _'judging from her appearance, she's not fit to fight right now.'_

Dosu then pulled up his right sleeve to reveal his metal armguard and said, "That fat eyebrow is quite efficient in hand-to-hand combat. Looks like I can have some fun."

The bandaged man then burst towards Lee. Sakura then threw a kunai at the bandaged man who leaped forward, leaving the kunai to stick on the ground. At the same time, Lee dug his right hand into the dirt and with inhuman strength, pulled out a large tree root to act as a shield. Dosu quickly struck the tree root with his hand, causing the root to shatter before he landed back where he started.

Lee said to the bandaged man. "You're attack has some sort of trick to it, right? I won't dodge it in a normal way. I saw your move before." _'But still, I'm at a disadvantage since it's one against three. I'll have to gamble.'_ Lee thought as he assessed the situation once more. He then furrowed his brows as he steeled his mind and thought, _'I will defeat them one at a time with everything I have!'_

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Meanwhile…Team Ten, namely, Ino and Shikamaru who were 'active' members of the team since Chouji was busy eating on top of a nearby tree, was at a loss at where to find people weaker than them.

"Baka! Do you know what you're saying?!" Ino angrily blurted out to the lazy genius. "Naruto and Sakura _are_ weak, but they have the super genius, Sasuke-kun."

Shikamaru then crossed his arms and replied, "I didn't say they were weak. I said they were 'weak _looking_'. That's what _we're_ looking for. But honestly, I wouldn't want to get involved with their team after seeing Naruto's profile."

Ino then frowned and said, "What profile? I don't remember anything about reading Naruto's record."

Shikamaru then replied, "This is so troublesome. I'll tell you since you can't remember."

_Flashback_

"_Anyway, the last one. Uzumaki Naruto." Kabuto said as he turned up the last card to show Naruto's face on it and his statistics as well as small pictures of his teammates and sensei. Hinata was nervous that Naruto could get caught at this point and she could see him trembling slightly as Kabuto began reading the info card. "Mission experience…seven D-rank missions, and one B-rank mission…Skills in hand-to-hand combat are above average, decent in ninjutsu, no known abilities in genjutsu, but is excellent with weapons, particularly with swords. He also has seven confirmed kills."_

_They looked at Naruto in astonishment. Team ten was astonished the most since they weren't there to witness Naruto's fighting capabilities and see him kill first hand._

"_S-seven kills? You're joking right?" Ino muttered out before she looked at Sakura and said, "Please tell me he's joking."_

_Sakura shook her head, making Shikamaru's drive to investigate Naruto become much deeper than before. It was troublesome for him, but with all the suspicious information surrounding his existence, it was worth the try._

_Naruto inwardly smacked his face knowing he was just a step away from being discovered._

_Shino then noticed something odd with the information that Kabuto relayed to them. "I think your card has a flaw. Naruto has six confirmed kills. Four of which were chuunin level and two were ronins."_

_Shikamaru's eyes widened when he heard that as he thought, 'Now I know that something IS wrong. He took down four chuunins by himself. Never mind the ronins, but chuunin level nins are not something a genin can do alone, let alone Naruto. Is this really Naruto? He's holding out on us and it's too suspicious to leave alone.'_

_All the other rookies looked at Naruto with curiosity and amazement. Not only was it astonishing that he had hidden talents and has killed already, but the fact that there was a seventh kill that they didn't know of but Naruto knew very well about the fake kill that kept Haku safe in Konoha._

_Sasuke then smiled as he looked at Naruto making the young blonde sweat drop knowing he was in deep water this time._

"_Good thing I asked him. You've been holding out on us this whole time. And who's the seventh person?" Sasuke said to him._

_Hinata was even more worried than before since she didn't know how to help the young blonde this time. If she stepped in, it would actually hurt more than help and he didn't need any more messes than this._

_Naruto was at a loss until he got a sly idea in mind and said to Sasuke, "Alright I give. The seventh guy was a big guy named Dodong who tried to rape and kill me one night after the mission to Wave. Man I hate okamas!"_

_Sasuke sighed in relief knowing that Naruto indirectly avenged his ass after the fiasco down at the gay bar that fateful night. Sasuke left his investigation there for now since Naruto helped ease the raven-haired boy's emotional pain._

_End of Flashback_

Ino then shuddered when that memory finally clicked in her mind. She then nervously raised her right arm to the sky and shouted, "T-that's alright! Who says we need to fight those guys anyway? We can take down Sakura but Sasuke-kun is too strong for us to face."

Shikamaru sweatdropped and said, "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

Ino then began shouting at his face with saucers for eyes and veins throbbing on her head. "I'm trying to sound upbeat here!"

Shikamaru backup up a bit and said, "Mendokuse. Even if you say that, we are screwed."

Ino then placed her hands on her hips and said, "Try to sound more upbeat. You sound like Chouji when he can't eat any barbeque for lunch."

Shikamaru then said in a higher and more upbeat tone yet filled with annoyance, "Mendokuse. Even if you say that we are screwed!"

Ino waved her arms in frustration until Chouji noticed something in his vision. "Sasuke's on the ground. And Sakura's fighting."

Ino then leaped up on the same branch that Chouji was on and said, "What did you say?"

Shikamaru then leaped next to Chouji to see the view and was shocked to see what was going on with Naruto's team.

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Lee began unwrapping his bandages to prepare for the battle of his life as Dosu charged at him once more. When Dosu got within range, Lee made a handseal and ducked down and kicked him in the air. With one hand planted down on the floor, he pushed himself back up and went behind Dosu in mid-air.

"I'm not done yet!" Lee shouted to him. His bandages then wrapped around Dosu's arms and waist and Lee took advantage of his helplessness by wrapping his arms around Dosu and spinning the both of them wildly towards the ground with Dosu's head facing the dirt below.

"That's not good. He can't break the fall like that." Zaku said as he saw the technique being performed. He then begun making handseals as Lee shouted, "Take this! **Omoto Renge!**"

Zaku then drove his hands to the ground and blew air currents through to soften the ground below his comrade. Lee successfully performed the move and drove Dosu into the ground just a split second before leaping out of the way.

Zaku however, smirked when he saw his comrade's legs up in the air while the rest of his body was half-buried in the pile of sand and soft earth. Dosu quickly recovered as he climbed out and shook his head to clear his mind.

Lee then gasped, "That can't be!"

Dosu then said, "That was a terrifying move. I was dropped onto this sponge ground, but it hurt like hell."

Lee was out of breath as Dosu revealed his metal gauntlet once more and said, "Now it's my turn."

The odds were grim now for Lee as his body still ached from the last move. Dosu took this opportunity and charged at Lee with all his might and delivered a right hook. Lee evaded by stepping back but felt the sound wave sharply disorient him.

Dosu then said to Lee, "Your moves are fast. But our moves are the speed of sound, and exceed yours."

Lee fell to his knees and panted while he was sorely winded. Dosu then retorted to Lee's earlier statement. "I will teach you that there is a wall that you can't get past just by hard work alone."

Sakura began to shake in fear knowing that things weren't going well for them. Lee vomited from the imbalance caused by the sound waves.

"Lee-san!" Sakura blurted in fear of the worst.

And just like clockwork, his left ear began to bleed from the stress caused by the sound to his eardrums.

Dosu then pulled up his right sleeve once again and said, "There's a little trick in my attack. Just dodging it won't help." He paused a moment and said, "It's sound. You dodged my fist but the sound attacked you. Do you know what sound is?"

Sakura then gasped out, "Vibrations?"

Dosu then replied, "Correct. Being able to hear something means that your eardrum catches the vibration in the air. And the human eardrum will shatter at anything above 150 decibels. On top of that, by applying a shock to the semicircular canals…an opponent will lose his sense of balance. You won't be able to move your body well for a while."

Zaku then added pain to injury when he said, "Your outdated hand-to-hand combat moves won't work on us. It was effective for a while, but I showed you my technique. So it's not going to go as smoothly as you thought it'd be."

Zaku then pulled out his hands and crossed them just in front of his chest to prepare his move. He then said, "I can control supersonic waves and air pressure. And I'm capable of destroying even a rock. I can send air into the ground and make it a cushion as well. It's different from your dumb moves."

He then opened his palms and faced them at Lee. Two air holes were located in the center of his palms while pressurized air begun to blow out of them.

Lee inwardly cursed himself for his lack of strength as Dosu charged once more with the same killer intent. Lee expected him to come after him in his weakened state but was startled to see the bandaged man zoom passed him and towards Sakura.

The pink haired girl quickly brought out a kunai to defend herself while Lee ran as fast as his imbalanced body could take him to intercept the attack.

Lee then shouted, "**Konoha Senpuu!"**

The young lad then leaped sideways to give a well-placed right kick to the right side of Dosu. But his imbalanced state prevented him from following through with the attack. Dosu took the moment of hesitation to parry the kick with his left hand as he said, "Looks like my previous attack was effective! You surprised me there, but I don't see a trace of your chain combo that was executed in a flash!"

Dosu then crouched down and gave a right hook to the head of Lee who quickly blocked it with both arms. But the same high-pitched sound waves begun to shatter his defenses as Dosu said, "This arm amplifies the sound that is generated inside to its maximum, like a speaker! But the sound of impact is not limited to the direction of my hand…I can use my chakra and join it into the target!"

The sound waves then homed into Lee's injured left ear making him squeal in pain.

Sakura then blurted out in despair, "Lee-san!" helplessness and exhaustion chained the pink-haired girl to her spot as Lee dropped to the floor unconscious and unable to fight.

Dosu then raised his right hand to make the killing blow as he said, "Now then, time to finish you off."

Sakura drew kunai in between her left fingers and shuriken in between her right. She then said, "I won't let you!" she then threw the knives at him. Dosu however, blocked the attack with his gauntlet.

Their battle brought tension to the eyes of the forest. Especially, the ones of Team Ten that hid in a nearby shrub to avoid unhealthy confrontations. They were terrified by what they just witnessed. Chouji was affected more, and told his teammates, "Come on, let's run away. They're dangerous."

Shikamaru then said, "Looks like Sasuke is out. But where's Naruto? Shouldn't he be with them? Even Lee, who just joined in, is getting beaten. Now, its just Sakura." The lazy genius then faced Ino and said, "What are you going to do Ino?"

Ino who was still wide-eyed with the events going on, replied without facing him. "Why do you ask?"

Shikamaru replied, "Sakura's in danger. Is that okay with you?" _'Why is Ino hesitant? Aren't they best friends? This looks bad.'_

The lazy genius then looked on and saw Sakura's fearful expression while Sasuke was restlessly moving around in his sleep and showing signs of stress as sweat began to form on his brows. Shikamaru then bit his thumbnail as he hugged his knees with his other arm and thought, _'Correction__:__ worse. By the looks of it, Sasuke's ill. He must've been poisoned for quite some time now to have a fever that radical in such a short time. And Naruto missing means that the baka left to look for water and anti-venom to cure Sasuke but during his time away, these guys must've showed up. If someone doesn't help soon, they'll be done for.'_

Shikamaru then faced Ino once again and said, "You two were best friends, right?"

Those words re-awakened her from her stupor and thought back to the times when Sakura was still her friend. Though they fight as much as cats and dogs do, they once had a kinship as close as sisters. Until that day…

_Flashback_

_Young Ino sat on a bench under a tree over a grassy hill while a young Sakura sat on the same bench on the opposite end. Sakura was deep in thought while Ino was simply enjoying the cool afternoon breeze that swept her short, blonde hair. _

_Ino was curious with Sakura's serious face and asked with a smile, "What is it, Sakura? You're being serious all of a sudden."_

_Sakura, whose eyes was still shut in mediation, then replied, "Um…Ino-chan…"_

"_So what is it?" Ino briefly asked once again. This time, Sakura faced her and said, "You like Sasuke-kun, right?"_

_Ino was caught speechless at this point. Wherever the situation was going, something was going to break and roll downhill. And for these two girls, the topic was serious enough to heed to. Sakura then stood up and with all seriousness said, "Then we're rivals from now on."_

_Sakura begun to walk away, having given her best friend the cold shoulder for the sake of her love for Sasuke. Ino was shocked and devastated that Sakura would sacrifice her friendship for a boy. Though it was childish and foolish, the damage was done as Sakura severed her bond with Ino at that moment, never to be repaired until the pink haired girl's desire and passion were fulfilled._

_End of Flashback_

Ino furrowed her brows as she thought, _'Why? Why am I remembering that event?'_

"Hey, Ino…" Shikamaru said to Ino causing her to stare at him in question.

"What are we going to do?" the lazy genius asked of her. The blonde girl, filled with mixed emotions, then replied, "I know we have to help, but we can't do anything! We can't just jump in there."

Shikamaru frowned and glared at Ino, completely disappointed that she would say such things. However, he could see her knees shaking and about to give way. He then returned his gaze to the battle in front of him only for him to see Sakura throw shuriken at Dosu while saying, "I...I can fight too!"

Zaku then quickly stood in front of Dosu and blew the shuriken back to Sakura with his hands. Sakura blocked her face to avoid damage as the reflected weapons harmlessly pass her. She began to lose balance. No doubt due to fatigue and the gust of pressurized wind that attacked her. But as she fell, the third member of Team Sound. Kin, yanked her hair hard from behind.

The black haired girl was full of jealousy of the pink haired girl whose looks were much better than hers, indicating that she took more time for her looks than her skills as a shinobi.

Kin then coldly said, "Your hair is glossier than mine. If you have time to take care for your hair, train more!" She then begun to shake Sakura's head furiously and ranted, "Trying to be sexy? Zaku, kill that Sasuke guy in front of this pig."

Zaku then replied, "That sounds good."

Sakura grit her teeth. Not because her hair was being pulled around, but because she was in a pinch and could do nothing for Sasuke. This was her chance to prove herself worthy as a shinobi. But it was also a chance for a meaningless death. She was determined not to let them have their way.

'_I won't let you.' _Sakura thought.

She tried to move, but was pulled hard making her flinch from the pain as her captor said, "Don't move!"

Lee managed to regain consciousness during this time and was desperate to move but his body wouldn't respond as he barely managed to turn his head to face Sakura and see the dire position she was in from his prone one.

Sakura felt a pang in her heart as she gripped the dirt with her right hand. She gripped harder and harder as tears welled up her eyes and begun to fall on her legs. She was desperate but couldn't do anything about the situation she was in. Anxiety was setting in and she was heavily burdened by it as she thought back to the times during their missions and training and came upon one conclusion.

'_I'm…I'm just a nuisance…' _The pink-haired girl thought. _'I've always been protected…This is vexing. I thought that __I__ won't be the one this time. I thought that it was __my__ turn to protect __my__ important people.'_

Sakura was balling her right hand into a fist. She remembered the situations her team was always in and during the most dangerous times, she was always the one being protected.

Zaku wasted no time and said, "Then let's do this." He slowly approached the sweating Sasuke as a certain young blonde, arrived on top of one of the branches of the trees in the area closest to the scene laid out before him. Ironically, it was the tree just above Team Ten, who didn't notice his entry.

Naruto sharpened his gaze. He knew what had to be done and reached his right hand inside his left sleeve to tap on the first summoning seal on his arm when he felt a sudden surge of reiatsu emanate from the tree where Sasuke rested.

Naruto was perplexed and thought, _'What was that? There's no way that Sasuke would know how to use reiatsu. Something's not right. Don't tell me…'_

His tenant then quickly answered him, **No…this isn't Byakko. Her reiatsu would be wilder if it was her. A slow but sudden pulse is more like Seiryu.**

Before Naruto could agree, the same pulse swept the area, albeit much faster and stronger than before.

'_There it goes again!'_ The young blonde thought as he grit his teeth. _'Kuso! This is really getting out of hand. It's getting stronger by the second.'_

It was then that Kyuubi suddenly understood which reiatsu signature it was. **Gaki, that pulse isn't Byakko or Seiryu. That pulse is…**

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Sasuke opened his eyes to see white all around him. _'Where am I?' _He thought as he looked around him. It was then that he realized he was dreaming. As he looked around, he remembered what had happened to him earlier and clenched his fist and looked down when he remembered that Naruto had saved him from Orochimaru.

'_Naruto…'_ He thought in frustration. But when he leveled his head again, there was a black canvas laid out before him on a wooden easel. The canvas was twice as tall as him and just as wide. He approached the canvas and looked at it with curiosity.

"Do you like it?" A small voice spoke to him coming from his right. The raven-haired boy looked to see a small, naked boy with short, wavy silver hair and a brush in his right hand. The boy was no older than six judging from his size and had potential in terms of looks. He was heterochromatic with the left eye green and the right one blue. All in all, he seemed like no more than an innocent boy as most boys of his age are.

Sasuke was curious about the boy until the boy spoke again. "Do you like the painting?"

Sasuke then looked at the painting and replied, "Did you paint this? Why is it all black?"

The silver haired boy then replied, "You don't like it?"

Sasuke then answered, "No, it's good. But why all black?"

The boy then stood up and replied, "That way you can see the universe!"

Sasuke smirked and said, "So that's why."

The silver haired boy smiled and stood in front of Sasuke causing the raven-haired boy to back up and ask, "What now?"

The silver haired boy then lent out his hand to Sasuke and said, "You want to see the universe with me? It's really beautiful."

Sasuke was reluctant, but he felt his body move on its own. As the raven-haired boy involuntarily reached his hand out to accept the silver haired boy's invitation, he thought, _'Why? Why am I drawn to him? I barely know him. This is a dream, right?'_

Sasuke's hand took the silver haired boy's and was pulled as they both ran into the black canvas.

'_Why am I entering the canvas? I can't let go of his hand.'_ Sasuke thought once more as darkness surrounded him.

He was inside the confines of the canvas along with the silver haired boy. And soon enough, the pitch, black paint became a veil of darkness to his already dim and brooding eyes. He could not see anything. Not the silver haired boy, nor his own hands. The biting frost of the cold darkness took him in and begun to fill his body. His blood ran cold and his flesh felt numb.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he shouted, "This is—"

Before he continued, his throat suddenly became dry. The very heat of his body was sucked up by the surrounding darkness. He couldn't feel anything at this point. Not even the warmth of the silver haired boy who still gripped his right hand.

Just as all hope seemed lost, the silver haired boy then said, "What are you afraid of?"

Sasuke managed to hear the boy's voice echo in his mind like a gong rung at noon. He turned to look at the general direction of the boy and saw that he was glowing brightly with an unearthly aura. The boy was smiling innocently yet honestly.

When the silver haired boy saw that Sasuke was paying attention, he then said, "In the deepest of darkness, there is light."

Suddenly, the veil of darkness was lifted from his eyes and the surrounding darkness became dotted and painted with stars as the galaxy formed before his very eyes. It was magnificent to see, as the surrounding world became a dazzling display of wordless beauty.

Sasuke was at a loss for words and felt more fearful than before. However the silver haired boy dragged him along nonetheless towards the nearest star. As they got closer to it, it became larger and more intense than before. Sasuke tried to pull back when he saw how large the star was.

"Let me go! We'll get burned!" Sasuke blurted out.

The silver haired boy turned his head to face Sasuke. With an irresistible smile, he then replied, "Don't you want to see the stars of the galaxy? Don't you want to see the other worlds?"

Sasuke then muttered in shock, "Other worlds?"

The boy nodded and said, "These stars are larger than we are in many ways. Each star has a heart and great power within it. I've always dreamed of seeing them and touching their power."

Sasuke frowned when he heard the word 'power' spoken so easily. He then thought, _'Power…that's right. I didn't have the power to rescue my parents or my relatives. I didn't have the power to stop Itachi or help my father when the council expelled him. I needed power to save them from death….but I was too weak. No…'_ The raven-haired boy balled his left hand into a tight fist. _'I was just a nuisance from the beginning.'_

The silver haired boy noticed his downtrodden face and said, "It's decided then."

Sasuke looked into the eyes of the silver haired boy who then said, "Let us gather the stars and travel the galaxy together."

The silver haired boy moved forward, floating through space towards the large and burning star while taking along Sasuke with him.

Sasuke protested and said, "There's no way you can gather the stars and harness their power. It's impossible."

The silver haired boy didn't stop. He just replied, "Yes I can. And I will. I have the power to."

Sasuke then sharpened his gaze and said, "Who are you? Are you…some sort of god?"

The silver haired boy then chuckled and said, "I…am the idea."

Sasuke was confused and asked, "What do you mean, idea?"

The silver haired boy stopped and turned around and said with a smile on his face, "I am the idea of evil. The desired god."

Sasuke's eyes widened but he could not pull away. "god? You?" He asked.

The silver haired boy kept his smile and said, "What you see before you is a part of me. My core. Everything around you, these stars is a vast ocean of feelings. All humans have, deep in their souls, a common consciousness that transcends individuality. Their collective consciousness as a species…it's dark side is this wide galaxy. And I am the center of it…It's Ego."

Sasuke was frightened but he could not pull away no matter what. And yet somehow, he was drawn to the boy despite his fear.

The silver haired boy then continued, "I am this world…the darkness that dwells in every human heart. This idea of evil…This is god."

Sasuke, with all his might, yanked away from the boy's clutches and shouted, "You're no god. Your just a monster from my dreams!"

The silver haired boy then said, "Not your dreams. But your consciousness." Seeing Sasuke's confused face, he then continued. "You wanted reasons for pain, sadness, life and death. 'Why was your life full of suffering and why where their deaths absurd?' You asked this question time and again because you wanted a reason for a destiny that kept transcending your knowledge. I produce those. I control your destiny."

Sasuke grabbed his hair and shook his head and blurted, "No! I made my own destiny! I made my own choice!"

The silver haired boy then chuckled and said, "Really? Or are you just reacting to the unacceptable fact that you lost most of your family and honor? That's not a choice or rather, your free will. It was I who gave you the decision. You just need to open your eyes to the truth that you're just following a path set before you. There is no escape from your destiny and your fate. In fact, you accepted it and have pushed forward into it."

Sasuke was caught speechless for a moment before he balled his fists together and angrily shouted at the boy, "That's a lie! I know that's a lie…"

The sliver haired boy then turned around and opened his right and raised it to receive the light of the star. A small light glowed in the shape of a ball in his hand. He then turned to Sasuke and said, "Here, take this. You may not believe me now, but if you take this ball of light, you will have the power to do what you wish. Whether it is to bring salvation or damnation."

Sasuke sharpened his gaze at the boy and frowned. "Why are you doing this?"

The silver haired boy moved closer till he was arms length away from Sasuke and replied, "Because I am a part of you. Your desire is my desire as well. Do as you will…my chosen one."

Sasuke then thought, _'This is insane. But power…I need it to become stronger so that I can defeat Him. The darkness huh…I am already a part of it. But in order to avenge their deaths and defeat Itachi…I need power without hesitation.'_

Sasuke was reaching out to grab the ball of light. His heart was beating wildly with each moment his hand reached close to the light. He could feel it was warm from the heat it emanated. But as he reached out to take hold of the offered strength, he remembered something gravely important…

_Flashback_

"_You're next Sasuke." Orochimaru said to the wide-eyed raven-haired boy._

_But before the snake could attack, once again, Naruto pinned the snake to the branch while he faced Sasuke with his crimson slit eyes._

"_Hey, are you hurt scaredy-cat?" Naruto said as gave him a feral grin._

_Both his other teammates were too shocked to say anything else. Naruto faced the snake while keeping the pressure of killing intent focused on the snake sannin._

_The young blonde then said to his teammate, "I know what I'm doing isn't the smart thing since he's a lot stronger than us. But it's the right thing. Bravery isn't the absence of fear Sasuke. But knowing that there are more important things than fear. I have something to protect. That's why I'm fighting this hard. What do you have Sasuke?"_

_This rang in Sasuke's ears over and over again as flashbacks of his parents and his team and his brother came into mind. After the Uchiha massacre, Fugaku was temporarily stripped of his rank for allowing his son to commit such crimes and the Uchiha Clan fell out of favor with the council. Thought he wasn't __completely__ responsible, he still played a part in it and was punished, while his wife was unable to bear any more children due to wounds she received from Itachi._

_Sasuke felt ashamed and felt the pain of loss of his entire clan. His parents were spared, but the unbearable pain of loss was still there._

"_Sasuke…" Naruto said, snapping Sasuke back into reality. "I'll protect you guys. I promise. Nothing has to happen like this. So I'll make sure that it doesn't happen. We have a future to protect. Not the past."_

_End of Flashback_

Sasuke stopped his hand from grabbing the glowing light. It was then he thought, _'What the hell am I doing? Remembering something like that…that doesn't matter right now. Whether to protect or destroy, I need power. From then on, I will choose my destiny.'_

Sasuke then took the glowing ball of light in his hand. The ball of pure energy melded into his body. Soon, the darkness around him became too dim that he lost sight of everything.

Sasuke's eyes drifted into sleep as he thought, _'Somehow…I'll find that path….'_

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Team Ten was nervously watching the scene before them. Shikamaru was worried about them but he couldn't leap in if his teammates weren't planning to.

Chouji was the most nervous of the team and didn't want to have to do anything with this battle. "We really should get out of here."

Ino then angrily faced him and said, "And just leave them to die?!"

Shikamaru then replied, "So what are we waiting for?"

Ino was still shaking in her knees until a kunai, coming from their direction, flew towards Kin, aiming to end her life. Kin let go of Sakura's head and moved to the side and evaded the kunai.

Zaku then faced the bushes and shouted, "Who's there?"

While Team Sound faced the bushes where Team Ten was hiding in, Sakura took this opportunity and drew a kunai from her holster. She then charged at Kin with a thrusting attack. She narrowly evaded, making it with only a scratch on her face. Sakura then formed handseals while Kin retaliated.

Zaku then faced Sakura and thought, _'Hmph. She's using a basic jutsu. Too easy.'_

Kin rammed her. Sakura however used a **Kawarimi** and a log was in her place. She came from the right side of Zaku, aiming to take him down. She had her arms crossed over her face with kunai in between her fingers. Zaku then faced her and raised his palms to face her so that he could deliver his attack.

"Kin, stay back!" Zaku shouted. Kin leaped out of the way as Sakura threw the kunai at him. "Useless! **Zankuuha!**" He said as pressurized air blew the kunai back at her only for her to puff out revealing a log punctured with the kunai. Sakura was coming down from above with a kunai in hand. Zaku knew that she was up there and raised his hands to do his jutsu once again.

Zaku then shouted to her, "I'm telling you, its not going to work more than two or three times!"

Instead of using his jutsu, he then took kunai from his back pouch and threw it at her. "This is good enough for you."

Sakura blocked the attack with her arms as she took the hit. Zaku then paid no attention to her, thinking that she used another **Kawarimi**.

"Now where did she go?" Zaku said as he looked around until he noticed that she was still above him. It was too late to evade as she drove her kunai down. He managed to block it with his right arm as the impact sent them both to the ground. Sakura held fast the now bloody kunai with her arms while she bit down his other arm. The onlookers were shocked by what they saw. Even Naruto, who purposely threw the kunai that started this chain reaction.

"Hanase kora!" Zaku said in protest as he smashed his fist on her head repeatedly. Naruto was about to make a move until his tenant told him, **Don't interfere. Let them take care of it.**

Naruto then mentally protested, _'Why? I can save them!'_

**So can they. Besides, that blonde girl is ready to fight. I can smell her testosterone levels rising.**

Naruto put his rants aside and waited. He knew that he could save the day, but so could his friends. Instead of acting out of rashness, he just believed in them despite how painfully hard it was for him.

Zaku then threw Sakura aside as he got up. "Cut it out already."

Chouji then said to Ino, "This is bad. Hey, Ino!"

Ino then nodded and said, "Alright. Let's go."

When the incident with Sakura was dealt with, Dosu then faced the bushes and said, "Hey, whoever you are, come out now!"

Team Ten then rushed out of the forest and stood in front of Sakura to guard her. Actually, it was Shikamaru and Ino who burst out. Chouji was just dragged by his scarf from Shikamaru.

Nevertheless, Sakura was wide-eyed when she saw them in front of her and so were the sound three. Zaku then smirked and said, "What the hell? It's just some new weird ones."

The battered Sakura then blurted out, "Ino…"

Ino then said to her without losing focus, "Sakura, I promised that I wouldn't lose to you, remember? I'm not going to let you take all the good parts in front of Sasuke-kun!"

Dosu was irritated and said, "They just keep on swarming in. Konoha's bugs have wandered in here again."

Chouji was too frightened at this point not to protest. "What are you two thinking?!" he said to his teammates. "These guys are too dangerous!"

Shikamaru then replied, "It's troublesome, but we have to do this. Since Ino revealed herself, we men can't just run away."

Ino just chuckled and said, "Sorry to get you two involved, but we're a three-man team. We do everything together."

Shikamaru then replied, "Oh, well. Whatever happens, happens."

Chouji then protested, "No! I don't want to die yet! Let go of my muffler!"

Chouji tried to resist and run away but Shikamaru held fast and said to him, "Shut up! Stop moving!"

Zaku chuckled at the display of cowardice and said, "You can run if you want…odebbu-chan."

Chouji's sharp ears suddenly kicked in and he stopped whining and said, "What did that person just say? I couldn't hear him too well."

Shikamaru began sweating and thought, _'Those words are taboo to Chouji.'_

Chouji then said, "If he says it again…"

Zaku then decided to add more insult to his words. "I said you can go jack off in the woods if you want…kono debu!"

That was the spark that ignited the fuse on Chouji's temper. Chouji then faced Zaku and shouted with an angry expression, "I'm not fat! I'm big-boned! Hurray for big-boned people!"

Naruto crossed his arms and thought, _'So this is what happened when I was knocked out cold. They all have leadership skills. If only they trained more…'_

The enraged Chouji then faced Ino and said, "Okay! You two understand that this is a fight between Konoha and Sound, right?!"

Fire begun to light up Chouji's eyes making Ino feel reassured and Shikamaru worried as he said, "Geez, this is going to be troublesome." _'Where in the world is Naruto? How far did he run to get water and medicine?'_

Zaku then retorted to Shikamaru's statement, "That's our line." _'Kuso. We were told to kill Sasuke before the exam ended…'_

Sakura felt reassured that her back was being covered. But when she looked to see Sasuke, she saw that he was sweating profusely while at the same time the sweat burned up as vapor. An ominous black and blue energy begun to erupt from his body like fire only it didn't burn him.

Sakura then muttered, "Sasuke-kun…what's happening to you?"

Ino then said to Sakura, "Sakura…take care of Sasuke back there. Where is Naruto by the way?"

Sakura then frowned and said, "He was having a nightmare and made a **Kawarimi** in his sleep so I don't know where he went. I was about to go look for him until these guys showed up."

Shikamaru then said, "All this time I thought Sasuke was poisoned and Naruto ran off to get water and medicine. But either way, Sasuke is suffering. He must have caught a cold from stress, lack of sleep and injury."

Sakura then glanced at the feverish Sasuke and said, "I guess it's because of the battle with Orochimaru. He fought pretty hard against his genjutsu and injured his legs in the process."

Shikamaru then replied, "Alright, this is how we do things. We'll cover you Sakura so that you can get Sasuke to safety and find Naruto."

Ino then asked the lazy genius, "What about Lee-kun?"

Shikamaru then replied, "I got that planned out already. Our priority is Sakura and Sasuke first. Once they're out of harms way, we'll save Lee and ourselves in the process."

Naruto nodded when he heard that statement and thought, _'That's exactly what I would've done. But how will they do it thought is the big question.'_

Ino then confidently told her team, "The Ino team is going to go with everything they have!"

Shikamaru and Chouji then replied, "Roger!"

They then steeled themselves as they said, "Formation Ino-Shika-Chou!"

Chouji then clasped his hands together in a handseal and said, "**Baika no Jutsu**!" When the plump boy's body expanded into a ball, he then said, "And Konoha Style hand-to-hand-combat…**Nikudansensha!**"

Chouji's arms, legs and head, tucked inside their sleeves as chakra steam began gushing out of the holes and his body began to spin wildly towards the sound trio. (For those who don't know how this looks like, think about the way turtles tuck in their limbs and how sonic attacks his opponent…hey I got a new idea!)

Chouji's rolling body came at them like a bowling ball and aimed to take out Zaku first.

Zaku then said in surprise, "What the hell is this?" he then smirked and said, "It's just a fat ass rolling." Zaku then aimed his open palms at the rolling Chouji and said, "**Zankuuha!**"

Zaku blasted away as much gale wind he could at the rolling ball of flesh to subdue the amok Chouji.

Frustrated, Zaku hollered, "Why you!" he then blasted more air at the human bowling ball. The surrounding area could feel the wind pick up at a faster rate than before. However, while the surrounding wind was growing wilder, another force of energy was getting stronger.

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Ichigo and Co. was looking at the screen in the TV via hell butterfly reception. They were on alert when they saw a massive reiatsu signature pick up on the radar. The signature was shining in multiple colors and expanding steadily indicating it wasn't normal in any way.

Ishida was the first one to react as he said, "I knew it. It was only a matter of time until one of them makes a move."

Inoue looked at Ishida and asked, "So then, the elemental gods are free?"

Rukia then responded and said, "Not exactly. Although Byakko may be free by now, they can't all be free."

Renji then said, "Something's not right though."

Yoruichi then crossed her arms and said, "I agree. It's just a gut feel, but for Byakko to appear this way doesn't make sense."

Urahara then typed away on his makeshift laptop and keyboard and managed to get a readout on the reaitsu signature. When he finished, he began scratching his chin and was deep in thought.

Chad then asked the wild blonde, "So how is it?"

The wild blonde then tipped his hat and replied, "Yare, yare. Things could get interesting."

Yoruichi then faced Urahara and said, "So It's _Her_?"

Urahara then shook his head and replied, "No. Not even close. If I where to judge, I'd say it's all of them."

Ichigo then asked, "What are you guys talking about?"

Both Urahara and Yoruichi then faced the rest of the crew and the dark skinned woman replied, "We think it's Byakko."

Ichigo then hastily said, "So if it is—"

"But…" Yoruchi said to complete her sentence. "Urahara over here said it isn't but the readout is familiar to any of the gods as well so it could be any of the five."

Urahara then typed some more on the makeshift keyboard and got an error message. Ishida then looked over the makeshift PC and his eyes widened.

"This is…" He blurted out.

Inoue, Renji, Chad and Ichigo took a look and their eyes widened as well. Rukia then asked them, "What's wrong."

Ichigo then said to her, "You have to see it yourself."

Rukia did as she was told and saw the message. It was an error message saying that the maximum places of negative numbers have been reached and the computer crashed due to a system failure from overload of information.

"Negative?" Rukia said as her eyes widened. "But that would mean that…"

Urahara then replied, "There is a very powerful hollow never before seen that exceeds the level of any of the hollows we've ever encountered before and it's alive and living."

Inoue then asked, "What do you mean alive?"

Urahara then explained. "I was checking the origin of the reiatsu. Apparently, the reiatsu was positive at first and led me to its source, which is Sasuke's body. But when I analyzed his soul, this message showed up indicating he is a hollow."

Renji then asked, "Is that even possible?"

Yoruchi then replied, "_Men who have no lives are those without purpose who wander in search of its meaning._ That was an old proverb oji-san used to give me. This 'Sasuke' boy is the proverb incarnate. On the outside he's fine, but on the inside he is dying."

Renji then retorted, "Che. It sounds like a cliché from a song. So are we going to help out or what?"

Ichigo then commanded, "We'll help only if Naruto calls us. Otherwise, it will blow his cover. It's more important to check the forest if there are any hollows around since Sasuke is a walking beacon for them."

Ishida then nodded and said, "Strong hollows like him could cause trouble for us. Especially if he accidentally opens up a—"

His message was too late as several hollows appeared on radar just on the outskirts of Konoha. They were closing in at an alarming speed as the alarm sounded and whirred in their ears.

Rukia then shouted, "No time to waste! Whatever caused this is most likely drawing them to it."

Renji then said, "It can't be helped. We'll take down the hollows first."

With that, Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Chad, Inoue and Ishida blurred out of sight and began to face off the hollows while Yoruichi and Urahara desperately tried to find a way to close the now-open portals from Hueco Mundo into Naruto's world.

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Zaku pressed as hard as he could with his attack but it was to no avail when the rolling Chouji bounced up in the air.

Zaku was in a bind. _'With his rotation, the air pressure from the __**Zankuuha**__ doesn't work very well. But even if I send supersonic waves into him, my arms would break touching that thing.'_

Dosu then ran to intercept the crashing Chouji. Shikamaru then went into action and placed his hands in the rat seal and said, "**Ninpou, Kage Mane no Jutsu!**"

His shadow extended and attached itself on Dosu's shadow. The bandaged man halted halfway, frozen by the jutsu.

"My body…" Dosu muttered. He managed to turn himself around just enough to see Shikamaru holding the rat seal. The lazy genius made a confident smile when he saw his jutsu was successful. And just in time too. Chouji in his rolling form managed to land on the ground with ease as his rotation burned up a small dust cloud and cracked the soil underneath him. Zaku evaded just in time but still had no idea how to attack an enemy in this state.

Kin, who saw Dosu mimicking Shikamaru's every movement, was confused with what was happening. She then shouted out, "Dosu! What are you doing?!"

But she quickly realized what was happening when she saw Shikamaru doing the same moves as Dosu.

Dosu then bitterly thought, _'This must be the __**Kage Shibari**__**no Jutsu**__…'_

Seeing that the plan worked out well, Shikamaru then said, "Ino, now it's up to you women."

Ino then replied, "Okay. Shikamaru, take care of my body." She then placed her hands in an unfamiliar handseal and said, "**Ninpou, Shitenshin no Jutsu!**"

Ino's soul then left her body and possessed Kin leaving Shikamaru to catch Ino's lifeless body. While Dosu was still busy mimicking Shikamaru's movements, Zaku was still evading the rolling Chouji. He was having a harder time than usual since he couldn't do anything to attack or defend against the enraged shinobi.

"Kuso…Kin!" Zaku shouted. However, Kin did not respond and stood still as a telephone pole.

Dosu then asked the stalwart woman, "What's wrong?!"

Kin then lifted her head up and pulled a kunai close to her neck and said, "This is it. If you move, this Kin girl is dead. If you don't want to retire here, leave your scroll and get out of here. Once you two back off far enough where we can't sense your chakra, I'll let this girl go."

Dosu and Zaku look unfazed at her threats. In fact, they made a small, devious smile indicating their true natures. To make matters worse, they even began to chuckle.

Ino didn't like where things were headed. _'Why are they laughing?'_ She thought. The blonde girl then commanded, "Chouji!"

Chouji then came crashing down headed for Kin. Sakura managed to blurt out, "No, they're trying to…"

And just as she thought, Zaku raised his left hand at Kin and blasted away another wind attack. Chouji's rolling form managed to defend Kin's body from being blown apart thus saving Ino as well. But the constant rotation of Chouji caused him to move forward and hit Kin. The black haired girl was thrown to a nearby tree. Blood started dripping from her lips and the lips of Ino as well.

Chouji managed to regain his composure but was still unbalanced from his jutsu at the same time the Ino-possessed Kin got up and said, "What's wrong with them? They hurt their own teammate."

Naruto from his position in the tree then sighed and thought, _'They took them too lightly. Sound Nins take after the Hebi-teme. Kuso…If things don't get any better, someone's going to seriously get hurt.'_

As if the young blonde's thoughts were spoken, Zaku then said, "You took us too lightly."

Dosu then continued, "Our purpose is not a dumb scroll or to get through this exam." Team Ten was wide-eyed when they heard this. Dosu then said, "It's Sasuke-kun."

And right on time, Shikamaru's jutsu had faded by the indication of his extended shadow returning to him. The lay genius was sweating knowing he can't keep Dosu in place anymore.

Dosu then said, "I see that your **Kage Shibari** can only be used for five minutes at the most."

Shikamaru then corrected him. "It's not **Kage Shibari. **It's **Kage Mane no Jutsu.**"

Dosu then replied, "And that girl's jutsu…It seems that she is able to slip into another person's mind and take control of the body. Seeing that blood from her mouth, it looks like that if we kill Kin, that girl will die too."

Shikamaru then wearily asked, "You're going to kill a teammate?"

Zaku then pointed his left hand at Kin and said, "If we have to, yes."

Naruto sharpened his gaze at the scene laid out before him he then looked around the area to prepare for his grand entry into the fray as Team Ten's morale begun to wither away. Shikamaru was the first to give in and say, "This is over."

Chouji then cursed knowing it was the end.

Zaku then slowly regained confidence while he kept his left hand aimed at Kin. "Close. You almost had us."

Dosu then replied, "You let your guard down."

Naruto was poised and ready until he felt two more familiar chakra and reiatsu signatures in the area. _'Oh crap. Why now?' _The young blonde then leaped down from the tree and leaned behind it while he made a reiatsu cloak around him to guard his presence from the two other nins perched on top of the trees just above where Sakura sat.

'_Kuso. I didn't notice them earlier.'_ The young blonde thought as he kept his eyes peeled from his hidden position.

His tenant then said to him, **you were too focused that you forgot your surroundings again. If you don't get rid of that tunnel vision of yours, it could be the end of everything.**

As Naruto kept his gaze on the battlefield, one of the familiar nins spoke from his perched position. "How disgusting."

Team Ten, Team Sound and Sakura looked to see that the voice came from Neji who was watching from above with Tenten next to him.

Having caught their attention, Neji then said, "A mere minor Sound ninja…acting like victors by beating those second-class ninja?"

Sakura then said, "They're from Lee-san's team…"

"Lee…" Tenten said as she gazed upon his unconscious figure in the dirt.

Neji then said, "It looks like he screwed up."

Dosu, pissed with the new arrivals, then said, "You guys just keep coming out like roaches."

Neji then said to them, "That bobbed haired kid there is on our team…" he then activated his **Byakugan** on instinct and said, "Looks like you went overboard with him!"

Everyone except Sakura and the hidden Naruto was surprised with the sight of his eyes. Though they were a pale shade of lavender, they were sharpened and focused while the veins around them bulged out. His very look intimidated all those not familiar with this sight.

Dosu was fearful at this point and thought, _'What's with his eyes? It looks like he's able to see everything with it…'_

Neji then said, "If you're going to continue to fight, we will fight with everything we have."

Tenten was about to leap into action until she saw Neji deactivate his **Byakugan**. "What's wrong Neji?" she asked.

Neji then muttered, "This chakra is…"

Dosu then replied to Neji, "If you don't like what we're doing, stop showing off and come down here."

Neji then replied, "No. It seems there's no need for me to do that."

Dosu was confused until he leveled his head and saw Sasuke standing up with several runic writings all over his body. (Think Celtic sigils…I can't believe that I know about sigils.) His hair had become silver in color and his **Sharingan **was ablaze over a now black set of eyeballs.

Sakura's face brightened up when she saw Sasuke's stalwart form. She then said, "Sasuke-kun! You woke up—"

Her face became terrified when she noticed the new changes on Sasuke. In fact, everyone else was terrified as a dark blue glow of energy begun to wrap around Sasuke and emanate from him like fire.

The Ino-possessed Kin then muttered, "That's…Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto knew that things were going to get ugly from here on out. He then pulled out his black notebook from his jacket and hastily flipped through the pages like there was a cartoon in them.

Sakura could feel the immense evil from Sasuke as she heard him say, "Sakura…Who did that to you?"

Dosu was confused more than ever. He never expected this to happen. _'This isn't the cursed seal. It's all over his body LIKE the cursed seal but I've never seen a seal like that.'_

Sakura then muttered, "Sasuke-kun…your body…"

Sasuke then looked at his left hand to see the runic writing on it. He was covered from head to toe in the runic writings and he had no clue as to how it happened. He then looked straight ahead to the Sound nins and said, "Don't worry. But more importantly, I can feel power surging inside me. I'm feeling good right now. _He_ gave it to me."

"What?" Sakura asked in confusion.

Naruto then came running towards them from the bushes and said, "Oi! What's going on here?"

Dosu then looked and saw him and said, "When will they stop coming?"

Shikamaru managed to regain a bit of composure to say, "Naruto? Where were you?"

Naruto grit his teeth when he saw the state that Sasuke was in. He knew that he had to step in this time to save them. The young blonde sharpened his gaze and thought, _'I probably have only one chance to do this so I better make it right. If I mess up now, he'll go berserk and everyone will be in harms way.'_

"I finally understand now…" Sasuke said while he was still concentrated on the Sound nins. "I'm an avenger. I must obtain power no matter what. Even if I must let the devil take hold of my body."

Dosu then ignored Naruto at this point when he heard Sasuke speak. He then thought, _'I see. His high fever and disoriented state must be the cursed seal. Still, I can't believe that he woke up.'_

Sasuke then commanded Sakura, "Sakura, say it! Who the hell hurt you?!"

Naruto then said, "Hey, don't shout at Sakura-san like that! What the hell is wrong with you?! What's going on here?" _'A direct approach can't be made here. He'll evade quickly if I just jump in. I need a distraction.'_

Zaku then said, "Che. I'm the one who hurt her."

Sasuke then faced Zaku with a killer intent that dripped of rage. The Ino-possessed Kin was stunned by what was happening until Shikamaru then shouted to her, "Ino! You're going to get confused as the enemy like that! Return to your own body!"

Ino saw Shikamaru was hiding in the bushes once more with her body. Chouji then heard Shikamaru say, "Chouji, you come here too. We're going to hide."

Chouji then ran into the bushes and Ino placed her hands together so that her fingers went in between the spaces on her hands and said, "**Kai**!"

Kin promptly fainted as Ino woke up in her original body.

Chouji then asked his best friend, "Shikamaru, what's going to happen now?"

The lazy genius replied, "How should I know?"

Sasuke's evil aura continued to emanate from him. His stare was filled with malice that reeked of evil. But more importantly, it reeked of defiance and rebellion.

Dosu was even more panicked than before and muttered, "This is too much for us. His Chakra is too huge!"

Zaku, fearless and dimwitted, then clasped his hands together as if he was praying and shouted, "Dosu, don't be afraid of that half-dead guy!"

Dosu then quickly faced Zaku and said, "No, stop Zaku! Don't you understand?!"

Zaku paid no attention and said, "I'll kill them all with this…" he then faced his palms at Sasuke and rooted himself in the horse stance. "I'll finish this in a flash! **Zankyokukuuha!**"

A huge blast of wind that was twice his height blew hard from his hands towards Sasuke. Everyone except Naruto hung on for dear life. The young blonde used his superior speed. And while the wind blew hard, he made the necessary seals to perform the jutsu he intended.

When the gale finally died down, it left a horizontal crater about a foot deep that spanned out to where Sasuke was.

Zaku then said, "They blew up to pieces."

"Who did?" Sasuke questioned from behind Zaku with Sakura and Naruto as well.

Zaku tried to turn around only to receive Sasuke's right backfist to his head. He was sent skidding to the side where Dosu stood. The bandaged man was much too frightened to react as Zaku begun to get up until he heard Dosu say, "He's fast. On top of that, he moved instantly while holding those two."

Sasuke quickly made handseals and shouted, "**Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!**" he then blew four fireballs from his mouth that headed straight for Zaku.

Zaku then said, "Don't get so cocky. I'll erase it!" he then blew another gale of wind from his hands towards the flames only to see shuriken was mixed with the fire. Zaku then blocked the shuriken with his hands until he heard Dosu scream, "Zaku, below you!"

It was too late to react as Sasuke went under his defense and placed his right foot on his back while he yanked both arms from behind.

Ino couldn't believe what she just witnessed. She then thought, _'His chakra is completely different from before. Is this Sasuke-kun?'_

Naruto on the other hand could smell the dark nature of Sasuke's reiatsu mix with the chakra that he was emitting.

'_His reiatsu smells like a hollow's…'_ The young blonde thought as he kept a sharp gaze at Sasuke. _'What's happening here?'_

Sasuke smiled like a sadist. "You seem to be proud of your arms."

Zaku then begged, "Stop it…"

Sakura just gazed with wide eyes at the sudden change of heart of Sasuke. And realized that he was just as sinister, no, more sinister than Orochimaru.

She only woke up from her stupor when she heard the popping of bone coming from Zaku's arms. Zaku screamed momentarily until Sasuke let go allowing him to collapse and lie there in the dirt.

Sasuke then faced Dosu and said, "That just leaves you…" Dosu shivered in fright as Sasuke approached him and said, "You better entertain me better than him."

Sakura started shedding tears when she saw the state that Sasuke was in and ran after him. Naruto decided that now was the time to intercept and ran towards Sasuke as well.

"Yamete!" Sakura shouted and hugged Sasuke from behind. Sasuke began to lose his nerve when he saw Sakura's tears.

"Yamete…onegai…yamete…" Sakura sobbed out.

Sasuke's hair returned to its natural color and his black eyeballs became white again though the runic writings didn't disappear and his sharingan was still active.

Dosu then thought, _'He's slowly returning. I'll be okay if I play it safe.'_

Sasuke then fell from exhaustion. Sakura managed to support him as he fell so he sat down on the ground to catch his breath. Naruto then made it to Sasuke and quickly placed his right hand over the raven-haired boy's shoulder as he asked him, "Are you okay?"

Little did Sasuke and Sakura know, Naruto's right hand had the suppression paper seal that he just attached on Sasuke.

Dosu then said, "You're strong." They turned to face Dosu. The bandaged man then took out his Earth Scroll and left it on the ground. "Sasuke-kun, we cannot defeat you. Let's make a deal. Please let us leave for now."

Naruto then faced Dosu and said, "No problem. Take your teammates and go."

Dosu then picked up an injured Zaku and unconscious Kin and replied, "We might be asking for too much, but we have something to confirm. In exchange, I will promise this. If we are to fight each other in this exam for the second time, we will not run or hide." He then turned around and begun walking back into the shadows like the shady character he is.

"Wait!" Sakura commanded.

Dosu looked back momentarily to see a determined pink-haired girl ask, "Who is Orochimaru? What does he want with Sasuke-kun? Why Sasuke-kun?!"

Dosu then replied, "I do not know. We were just ordered to kill Sasuke-kun."

With that, he entered the darkness, never to return…for a time. Naruto then released his hand from Sasuke and the runic writings started fading away.

Naruto then kneeled down beside Sasuke and asked, "Are you okay now?"

Sasuke then nodded and said, "Yeah…much better. How about you Sakura?"

Sakura then replied, "Hai…thanks to you."

Shikamaru finally was able to breath again and said to Ino, "It's troublesome Ino, but you take care of that Lee guy."

Team Ten then rushed to aid the fallen and injured warriors to the best of their ability while Neji and Tenten just watched.

The stoic boy then thought, _'That chakra was abnormal. The Uchiha Clan's powers is beyond my knowledge.'_

Sasuke then looked at his hands and asked, "What was I?"

Naruto then took the scroll from the ground and said, "Which one of you guys wants this scroll?"

Shikamaru then walked up to Naruto and took the scroll from him. "You sure about giving this up?" He asked the young blonde.

Naruto then replied, "We already have both scrolls and were headed for the tower until all this happened."

Shikamaru had an eyebrow raised and said, "That's pretty quick to get both scrolls in one day's time. Especially for a team of genins."

Naruto then frowned and said, "Hey, at least we finished our goals."

Chouji then came up and said, "They probably got lucky like we did when that trap caught that team."

Naruto then asked, "What trap?" _'Please don't tell me…'_

Shikamaru then said, "There was a trap that emerged from a seal in the ground and kills those who stand on it by digging into them and breaking their bones. It then leaves them to die by suffocation and the seal disappears. Ever encounter one of those traps on your way here?"

Naruto then shook his head and said, "No. But we were ambushed by a team of Rain nins. We fought back and took their scrolls after we defeated them."

Shikamaru quickly eyed the right hand of Naruto and managed to get a small glimpse of the paper seal. He then thought, _'I was right. If that is the case…'_

Shikamaru then brought out a small strip of paper from his back pouch and showed it to Naruto. The young blonde was surprised beyond belief though he didn't show it.

Shikamaru then said, "Do you recognize this writing Naruto?"

Naruto then thought, _'These words are from my book. He found out about __**Kaikin**__?' _the young blonde recovered his internal composure and said, "No. Where'd you find something like this?"

Chouji then asked his best friend, "What's that Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru answered, "It bothered me, but I managed to analyze seal of that trap. I've seen the words used for that seal before. It looked pretty much like these ones. I asked my dad about **Fuuin Jutsus** before and this popped up in one of his lectures. I took note and found this in one of them. Amazingly, it's the same type of words used on that trap.

Chouji then looked at the writing and said, "You're right. It looks like it."

Naruto was caught in a trap. He then answered, "Is that for real? Are those the exact words?"

Shikamaru then replied, "Yes, but the last line is wrong. '**Viti de Legno'** was written instead of **'Pini de Legno'**. Because of that the seal didn't last long. Whoever wrote this was sloppy, inaccurate and stupid. It pisses me off."

Naruto then thought, _'This is a nice pinch I'm in. If I react and correct him I'll fall for his trap. If I don't correct him, I'll look guilty.'_ The young blonde then went wide-eyed and said, "Sugoi! You can write seals using words? I never knew that."

Shikamaru and Chouji both face-faulted. When they regained their composure, the lazy genius then replied, "Are you serious?"

Naruto then scratched the back of his head and said, "I never really paid attention when they talked about boring stuff like that during the academy. All those words made my head hurt."

Shikamaru then shook his head and thought, _'Of course. He of all people is the least likely to do something that intelligent.'_

"By the way," Naruto said grabbing the two boys' attention. He then made a serious face and asked, "So what's the difference with these words? They look alike to me."

The two boys face-faulted again. Shikamaru gave up at this point. If he was going to explain that much to him, it would take forever to make the young blonde understand. Instead, he and Shikamaru went over to check on Ino while the lazy genius muttered, "Mendokuse…"

Naruto then replied, "I was serious there!" _'No really, I WAS serious that time. This could actually help me in making better seals.'_

Naruto then turned around to see Sakura pulling out a kunai and bringing it closer to her head. The young blonde then shouted, "Sakura-san! What are you doing?!"

Sasuke then grabbed her hand and said, "Suicide is pointless."

The pink-haired girl then said, "I'm just going to cut my hair."

Sasuke was a bit surprised as was Team Ten and Naruto. The raven-haired boy was about to ask until Sakura said, "I like long hair. But you know, it gets in the way when I move around in a forest like this."

Sasuke then replied, "Why don't you just tie it then? You might hurt yourself if you cut it."

Naruto then nodded and said, "That's right. Besides, I don't think you really want to cut your hair."

Sakura felt a bit embarrassed at what she heard. But she nodded anyway and said, "Okay. But after this exam, I'll still cut it shorter." Ino of course, was perceptive enough to notice her rival's feelings and thought, _'That Sakura…she's trying to act tough.'_

Tenten then leaped from her spot and landed right in front of Ino who still had Lee slung on her shoulder. She then said to her, "I'll take him now."

Ino then handed Lee over to Tenten who shook the poor boy and shouted, "Wake up Lee!" the blonde girl sweatdropped when she saw this.

Although roughly awakened, Lee then with a mellow voice said, "Tenten…why are you here?"

As Tenten explained the situation to Lee, Naruto ran over to them and said, "Hey, you're the fuzzy eyebrows!"

Sakura then abruptly went wild and shouted, "**Don't talk to Lee-san that way!**" she then let her fist fly at Naruto who quickly evaded. She went at it over and over again while Shikamaru and Chouji just watched. The plump boy then said, "Naruto is totally out of it."

Shikamaru then said, "He's the type of person who can't become a main character in a story."

When Sakura had enough of trying to trash Naruto, she went over to Lee and said, "Lee-san…Arigato. Thanks to you, my eyes are wide open now. I think I've become a little stronger." She then smiled at him making the boy feel a sense of accomplishment as tears welled up in his eyes.

Sasuke then approached Lee who then wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "I think I need more training. Sasuke-kun…you live up to the reputation of the Uchiha Clan. You drove the Sound ninja away. You truly possess great potential and power. While I lost horribly."

Sasuke was surprised. The very boy who easily beat him just two days ago was easily beaten by the sound ninjas. He was utterly confused now.

Lee then said, "Sakura-san…the Lotus in Konoha blooms twice. The next time we meet, I promise that I will be a stronger man." Tenten of course, was a bit weary of what made Lee say such things while Sakura just accepted his promise.

"Hey, Sakura!" Ino shouted from behind her. "I'll fix up your hair."

Sakura of course, knew why she was calling her out. She just went over, unafraid in the least. She sat down while Ino combed her hair and took a tie to fix it up. As the blonde girl fixed her rival's hair, she then spat, "You cheater. You hugged him back there, forehead girl."

Sakura then made a coy and confident smile and said, "In public, the person who takes the initiative wins…Ino-bunta."

While all of this was going on, Neji stayed cool throughout the entire scene that played out before him. He managed to estimate the competition before him and made some decisive conclusions. However, of all that piqued his interest, it was Sasuke that he was more worried about.

'_Uchiha Sasuke…'_ the stoic boy thought. _'He is a powerful rival.'_

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Team Eight had just made it to the tower. And just like before, they were the first to get there regardless of the various variables in the time stream. And just like before, Akamaru was frightened of Gaara. But despite their fears, they pressed on and made it without a hitch. As they walked through the dark, dry, and empty hallways of the tower, they realized how quickly they really made it to their destination.

Hinata then said, "No one's here…"

Kiba then replied, "Hehe. So we are the first ones here?"

Shino then adjusted his shades and said, "No, I felt someone's presence here."

Hinata then went over to Akamaru who rested in Kiba's jacket and pet him. As she comforted the frightened animal, she then said, "Is Akamaru okay? He's been shivering ever since."

Shino was also worried and said, "Oh yeah, what did Akamaru say awhile ago?"

Kiba faced the bug user and said, "Oh, Akamaru said that the big guy is going to get killed by the kid from the Sand."

And just as they finished talking, they heard three familiar voices get louder and closer towards their position. And the moment the voices stopped, they saw the same Suna shinobi from the forest enter, unfazed and calm at the most.

Team Eight was wary of them. Most especially, the red-headed one with a gourd. Hinata heard from her love that the red-headed one was Sabaku no Gaara….jinchuuriki of the Ichibi no Yoko known as Shukaku. Also, he was one of Naruto's closest friends and the future Kazekage of Sunagakure of Suna no Kuni.

As the foreign ninjas passed them by, momentarily glances were met. But the glance of Gaara was the harshest. His green eyes spoke not of life, but cold and calculating death fueled by his manic persona despite his calm exterior. Hinata tried to avoid looking directly but realized that she couldn't.

A fowl mistake for her to make as Gaara suddenly stopped and faced them.

Team Eight felt they just signed their death wish and unconsciously took a step back. Gaara's sudden and abrupt stop caused his siblings to wonder and stop as well.

Kankuro then asked, "What's wrong Gaara?"

Of course, he was more concerned that Gaara might go wild and lose control. Temari had the same thoughts in mind and looked at Team Eight before saying, "These bugs aren't worth our time."

Gaara paid no heed and walked forward to them, causing the frightened team to have their backs up the wall. He then shifted his gaze from Shino to Kiba and finally Hinata. He then focused them on the Hyuga Heiress and commanded, "You…"

Hinata muttered, "Eh? …Watashi?" _'His eyes…they're so full of loneliness and pain…the same one's as Naruto's. No, probably more.'_ Hinata then swallowed her fears knowing there was no turning back now. It was either fight or die. And she'd rather fight to see another day to walk in the footsteps of her blonde hero. She then clenched her fists and steeled herself despite her anxiety and said, "What do you want?"

Gaara suddenly took a half-step back. He was unsure why and so were his kindred. At that moment he thought, _'Her chakra is shifting. Its form is changing. But there's more. What is this growing power in her?'_

The red headed boy then said, "_His_ scent is on you." They were utterly confused and Kiba then said, "What?!"

It took a deathglare from Gaara to silence the dog boy and his whimpering canine companion who hid deeper in his master's jacket.

With a forged heart, Hinata then said, "What do you mean?"

Gaara then returned his gaze and focus and replied, "The smell of _His_ chakra is on you_._ When he gets here, tell him I'll be waiting."

Shino was about to protest until Hinata raised her hand to block him indicating she knew what she was doing. The bold Hyuga Heiress then replied, "May I know his name and yours so that I can properly deliver your message."

Gaara made a small, evil smile causing her to tremble slightly but she quickly regained composure and sharpened her gaze with all her might. Against a seasoned killer like him, she needed to project her bravery.

The red headed boy then said, "You already know his name. _His_ smell is strong on you. But since you asked, my name is Sabaku no Gaara. Don't forget to deliver my message…Tatsu."

Hinata then grit her teeth for a moment and released her fists and coolly replied, "Wakarimashta. I'll be sure to deliver it."

For a moment, Gaara was able to see a silhouette of a black dragon wrapped around her. He then understood and said, "So that's why…"

Hinata then said, "Anything else?" though she said that, her right hand was already at the holster, waiting to sling her kunai at him and the other two if necessary. Kiba as well looked right and left, back and forth to see how they would fair while Shino's bugs became restless.

Gaara then replied, "No…thank you, jouenryuu." The red headed boy then faced his still surprised siblings and said, "Let's go." With that he continued walking. His siblings walked behind him but caught a final glance at the steady Team Eight before leaving.

Kiba kept his calm as he thought, _'I don't know who this kid from Sunagakure is but he's too dangerous!'_

Hinata was able to relax and Shino lowered his guard as well. Akamaru peeked out of Kiba's clothing while whining. Kiba then pat his best friend's head and said, "Don't worry. He's gone for now." The dog boy then faced Hinata and said, "But I was surprised. You talked that guy down."

Shino then looked at Hinata as well. His shades and high collar covered his wide-eyed amazement but it didn't take a genius to know that he was amazed.

The lavender-eyed girl then flailed her arms a bit in defense as she said, "I-I just did what anyone would do! W-we had o-our backs against the wall an—"

"I see." Shino said in interruption. He then looked over his right shoulder and up on the ceiling. He then saw a figure in black hanging from it. To an untrained person, they would've panicked. But to a shinobi, it was just another shinobi in hiding.

The bug user then said to the hanging figure, "Who are you?"

The figure then cut off his chakra from his feet and fell to the ground. He landed gracefully to the point it was reflexive. Despite the dim lighting in the hallways, they managed to identify him as Haku.

The young bishounen then smiled and said, "No wonder you guys are taking this exam. Then again, you were able to defeat the team of chuunins that Zabuza-san sent on that bridge."

Kiba then asked, "You were there the whole time? How come we couldn't smell you?"

Haku then replied, "That's because you were too frightened by that boy's chakra to notice."

Though he tried to hide it by looking away, Kiba was a bit flustered at his error. Haku then faced Hinata and asked, "So who was he referring to?"

Hinata couldn't give an answer since it would give away her relationship with Naruto. But she needed to give an answer nonetheless. But before she could speak, Shino raised his hand to block her and took over for her.

The bug user then said, "I'm more concerned about why a chuunin on guard duty would spy on the examinees."

Kiba then chimed in. "Ya. Shouldn't you be lookin' out for more teams that passed?"

Haku kept his smile and said, "Oh, my. You're very perceptive. But I'm already done with my shift so now I need to watch out for the participants inside."

Hinata then asked, "Is that all?" and it was a good thing she asked that. Haku then looked over the team to see if there was anyone behind them before looking behind his own back. Team Eight got the message and looked around as well. Akamaru sniffed the air before making a small grumble to his master. Kiba nodded indicating that there were no prying eyes or ears.

Haku, with a serious expression, said to them, "Actually, that team you just met was here earlier than you guys."

Kiba sighed at the sound of that.

Haku then continued. "After the Second Exam started, an hour and thirty minutes later, they arrived. Of course, they had to go back in the forest to get their second scroll."

Shock was an understatement. Team Eight was wide eyed with fright. Seeing that they were still paying attention, Haku then said, "That's not the amazing part. Gaara, the red haired one, managed to come here without a scratch nor dirt on his clothes."

Kiba at this point protested. "There's no way. They must've cleaned up at least before getting here."

Hinata then corrected him. "I think it's true. You saw the way he fought. With the abilities he has, there's no way that can't be true."

Shino then asked Haku, "So you video-taped the time of their entry and have suspicions about them?"

Haku nodded and said, "Which is why I'm on patrol here. We need to keep an eye out for them. The Chuunin Exams still have its dangers."

They looked confused as to why he said that but Haku decided to leave it at that for the moment and **shunisined** out of there.

But just as Haku left them to ponder his words, another set of teams had managed to make it in time.

Team Ten and Neji's team had finally arrived at the tower. This left only Team Seven to arrive. As the two battered teams entered the tower, Hinata then said, "It seems that Naruto's team is the only one left from our group to arrive."

Kiba then said, "That's pretty weird. I was hoping to see that baka's face right after we came here. Guess we'll have to wait awhile."

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After another day of rest, Team Seven had finally reached their destination. They had made it to the tower despite all odds albeit a little later than normal so Kabuto's team wasn't there to greet them like last time. The young blonde was brimming with excitement when they saw the door leading to the next phase of the Exam.

Naruto smiled and said to his teammates, "We finally made it!"

Though he was shouting in joy, his teammates were the complete opposite. Sasuke still had bandages on his legs while Sakura had bandages on her arms and legs, and her hair in the back was tied up the same way Anko's hair was tied. It was the only compromise she would go with concerning her hair. But despite the new hairstyle, she was still beat up and worn out.

Sakura sighed and said, "Good thing too. I wouldn't last another day in there. How do you manage to live through this everyday?"

Sasuke then replied for her. "It's not that hard when there aren't any enemies all around you."

Sakura then faced Sasuke and said, "Are you alright Sasuke? You still need to rest from the battles yesterday and the day before."

Naruto was also concerned and said, "Don't push yourself too hard. It's a bad idea to move without rest."

Sasuke then made a confident smile and said, "Who's pushing here? I'm fine."

Although he said that, he still occasionally scratched his right shoulder that had a small bruise on it. He was still recovering, but it was nothing too drastic unlike the curse seal that Orochimaru placed on him in the last lifetime.

Naruto then said, "That's good. Wouldn't want to leave you behind."

Sakura's eyes became saucers as she shouted to him, "You're the one who left us when we needed you! Suddenly disappearing in your sleep…We should leave YOU BEHIND!" Naruto sweatdropped as Sasuke crossed his arms and said, "What kind of dream made you use a **Kawarimi** to escape?"

Naruto replied, "Ahh…Well, I dreamt I was eating a bowl of ramen the size of my apartment. It was so good until the Hebi-teme came out of it and sent snakes from his mouth to eat me alive." _'There's no way I can tell them that I was dreaming about the war against Aizen.'_

Sakura and Sasuke face-faulted when they heard that. When they recovered, the pink haired girl then said, "Well at least your dream wasn't so bad."

Naruto then asked Sakura, "Why? Did you get a nightmare?"

Sakura replied, "While you guys slept, I was on watch. But I accidentally fell asleep somewhere in the middle. I can't remember everything about it aside from the part where I wandered through a place like it came from an old history book."

Naruto asked, "What's so scary about that?"

Sakura then replied, "It was scary because I wandered into a place where there was this small, pink haired girl being greeted by all these men in black hakamas." Naruto didn't like what he heard as Sakura continued. "They called her 'fukutaicho' and bowed to her. Then I got caught by a guy with an eye patch over his right eye and a…"

Naruto then did the unthinkable and said, "Worn out sword and a haori over his hakama?" _'Shit! I'm screwed! Why'd I say that?!'_

Sakura then said, "Ya! That's exactly what he wore. How did you know?"

Sasuke sharpened his gaze at the young blonde who defensively replied, "I just thought a character like him would wear something like that."

Lucky for him Sakura bought it and said, "Anyway, he said that I needed to be executed for snooping around that place and was about to be cut apart until I woke up."

Naruto then turned to Sasuke and asked, "What about you?"

Sasuke curtly said, "Nothing. I slept and woke up fighting."

Naruto placed all these messages in his mind as he opened the door and entered with Sakura and Sasuke behind him. They saw an empty room with two walkways just above them leading to several other places in the complex. And on the wall of one side was a framed poem that brought nostalgia to the young blonde.

"No one's here." Naruto said, repeating his past.

Sasuke nearly tripped on his way inside so Sakura had to help him in. When he was good enough to stand on his own, he then said to Sakura, "Thank you Sakura for your help. I'm fine now."

The pink haired girl smiled and said, "Okay." Though she said that, inner Sakura thought, _**'How disappointing, damn it! I want to be near Sasuke-kun more.'**_

Naruto then looked at the poem and said, "Hey, look at this." When he got his teammates attention, he then read the poem. "_If you do not possess heaven…gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess earth, run through the fields and seek strength. If you open heaven and earth scrolls, dangerous paths turn into safe paths. This is the secret of something…it shall lead your way."_

Sakura then said, "It's missing a letter."

Sasuke then took out the two scrolls from his pouch and said, "I think the missing letter is in the scrolls."

Naruto then took the Heaven scroll while Sakura took the Earth scroll. The raven-haired boy and Sakura had their eyes glued to the scroll with a worried expression on their faces. But the young blonde had no problem whatsoever concerning the scrolls and opened his without haste.

Sakura managed to open hers at the same time. When they fully opened the scroll, they saw the kanji for human written in a large font with a summoning seal over it. Smoke started to rise from the scrolls. The team backed up a bit as they left the scrolls on the ground allowing the smoke to rise to the size of a human. Naruto knew already who was inside the scroll and it was no surprise to him when he saw Iruka standing over the laid out scrolls the moment the smoke cleared.

Iruka smiled at them and said, "Siyasiburi danna." Seeing their confused expression…well, at least Sasuke and Sakura's confused expression, he continued. "Looks like the three of you went through a lot of trouble."

Naruto then scratched his head and said, "So…did we pass?"

Iruka replied, "Yes. We Chuunins are to welcome the examinees at the end of this Second Exam. I was given the duty to pass a message to the three of you by chance." Iruka then pulled out his watch and looked at it. He smiled a bit brighter and said, "You made just in time. Congratulations on passing the Second Exam."

Sasuke and Sakura both sat down when they heard that while Naruto grinned from ear to ear. But then, the raven-haired boy asked, "Iruka-sensei, what would you have done if we opened the scrolls during the exam?"

Naruto then faced Sasuke and said, "Then we would have failed the exam. The purpose of this test was to test our mission completion ability."

Iruka then picked up one of the opened scrolls and said, "Naruto…you've gotten a lot sharper." The young blonde smiled at Iruka who then showed them the opened scroll and said, "As Naruto said, this test is to test your mission completion ability. So, if you break the rules and open a scroll…we were ordered to knock out the examinees until the Second Exam ended."

Sakura then asked Iruka the meaning of the words on the framed poem. As Iruka begun explaining, Naruto was deep in thought about what happened yesterday.

The young blonde replayed that day's events in his head and thought, _'What the hell is going on here? So Orochimaru showed up as predicted. But…I just had to have that dream and leave my teammates to fend themselves.'_

His agitated tenant then said, **It can't be helped. Focus your thick head on something more useful. Like that reiatsu pulse that emanated from Sasuke.**

Naruto remembered that scenario. He remembered the feel of the reiatsu. It wasn't a normal reiatsu. Rather, it felt of something sick and twisted. It felt full of evil beyond anything he ever faced.

'_What were those writings? What happened to Sasuke?'_ the young blonde thought.

A faint voice began to call the young blonde's name. "Naruto…"

The words fell on deaf ears this time. The young blonde continued his pondering. _'His reiatsu warped all of a sudden. It felt like a hollow's reiatsu yet like a normal human being's at the same time.'_

"Naruto…" the voice called out much louder. There was a distinct masculine tone in it this time.

Naruto closed his eyes and thought harder. _'Is is possible that somehow Sasuke got affected by the god of lightning? And what about Sakura's dream? How did she dream of the eleventh division?'_

His tenant then spoke to him, **Like Ichigo's friends, your reiatsu output influenced them in one way or another. The dream of the pink haired one is the result. But for the Uchiha…It's beyond even you.**

Naruto then thought, _'At least one question was answered. But if this happened to Sasuke, then a lot of other things are going on. I need to find out what.'_

"Naruto!" Iruka hollered out to him. This time, Naruto reacted by holding his head and shouted, "I don't get it at all!"

Sakura then planted her fist on his head and she said to him, "Of course you don't baka! You didn't pay any attention to Iruka-sensei!"

All the young blonde could do at this point is rub his head and look confused. Sasuke shook his head and thought, _'And to think this is the baka who saved us from death.'_

Iruka planted his hand on his face and thought, _'Though you graduated from the academy, you're still the same.'_

Iruka then continued his speech. "A chuunin is a commander-class. He has a duty to lead a team. Deeply inscribe in your heart the importance of knowledge and strength in missions. Never forget that Chuunin principal, and go on to the next step. That's all I was ordered to tell you."

Naruto gave a confident grin to Iruka and saluted. However, the brown haired chuunin was worried after seeing the state that his former students were in. Naruto could feel what Iruka had in his heart and made a softer genuine smile to Iruka and told him, "We'll be alright Iruka-sensei. I can't tell you that I'll take it easy from here on out. I've come too far for that."

"Naruto…" Iruka said in surprise. Naruto's teammates paid attention to him at this point.

The young blonde had a confidence born not out of pride, but of experience and wisdom. His azure eyes began to have the faint blue, fiery glow in them that indicated he was ready for the next fight. Naruto then said, "But I can tell you that, I found it worth the effort to get here. So it should be worth the effort to go all the way. And I'm not going back on my word. That is my nindo. I'm no longer a kid. Right now…I'm a shinobi."

Iruka was shocked. But when he saw that Naruto wasn't flinching or wavering, he knew that he was serious. He then thought. _'I was wrong. You've changed so much. You really have grown up.' _With that in mind, Iruka said,"You're right Naruto…I'm sorry."

Sasuke and Sakura regained their exhausted morale and renewed their strength with those words. They felt ready for anything and everything.

When Iruka looked into the young blonde's eyes, all he could see was life and determination. All any of them could see is passion behind those eyes.

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Yatta! Soire ha owari waru! (I think I wrote it right this time…then again…) After a long time…it's finally finished. I really need to write faster and find a way to make a set deadline of releases. If only I knew how to do **Kage Bunshin**…then again they'd probably have the same problem as me so it'd make things worse.

Anyway, I broke my promise….dang. I'm really sorry but there won't be chapter 23 along with this one. (For some reason, I can feel someone targeting me. It better not be Iron Man.) But I've thought long and hard and I'd be cutting this fic until the arc where Naruto leaves for training with Jiraya. From there, I'd make the second half under a new title. Somehow it doesn't seem like a big change but that's what I've decided. I've written that reminder in my wallpaper in large fonts so that I don't forget.

Thanks for all the reviews. They are greatly appreciated and I'm glad that a lot of people like this fic. I won't stop writing it until I finish it. Ja ne!


	23. The Enigmatic Maverick

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: There will be some translations in this one so people can understand better. Take note, there will be a little more of my culture in here so please bear with it.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 23**

_**The Enigmatic Maverick**_

With the opening of the doors…

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A serious, silver-haired jounin with his hitai-ate slanted over his left eye and a video tape in his right hand, walked into the video room where the Hokage, Anko, Izumo, and Kotetsu are watching over the screen the footage of Gaara's team and the rest of the twenty one participants in the soon to be held preliminaries.

The wild Anko was trembling in pain from the curse seal that Orochimaru left on her as a parting gift before she no longer became of use to him. She clutched the triple tomoe tattoo on her left shoulder as she braced herself for the pain. Slowly, the pain began to wither away allowing her to focus on matters at hand.

The old Hokage took a puff from his pipe before he asked the wild woman, "How are you feeling? Does the cursed seal hurt?"

Anko then replied, "No, it's gotten better thanks to you."

As the wild woman let go of her left shoulder, Izumo then asked, "Isn't Orochimaru one of the Sannins from the Konoha Legends? He's an S-classed exiled ninja from the bingo book that even ANBU couldn't deal with right?" seeing that they were still listening, he continued. "I heard that he died, but…"

Kotetsu then finished the sentence for his comrade. "Why would he come to this village now?"

Anko went wide-eyed when she remembered what happened to her in the forest where she confronted the Snake-sannin himself.

The wild woman then said in a low voice, "It's because…"

"Sasuke, right?" the old Hokage said, much to the surprise of the silver haired jounin who turned to Sarutobi and said, "Is that why you called me here?"

Sarutobi nodded and replied, "Unfortunately, I've known my student to be extremely persistent. You will need to guard Sasuke with your life if necessary."

Kakashi nodded but still got a curious stare from Kotetsu who pointed at the tape in his hand and said, "Ano, what's that for?"

Kakashi smiled under his mask. Only Anko and Sarutobi could pick up the subtle smile behind the mask. The silver haired jounin then said, "I was asked to bring an empty tape here to exchange it for the used one."

Kotetsu and Izumo bought it but little did they know what Kakashi really had in his hand as the silver haired jounin thought back to when he got the tape.

_Flashback_

_Earlier that day, Kakashi was waiting outside the video store in the red light district of Konoha. He was sure that it wouldn't take long to convert a videotape. Yet he had waited for more than an hour and it was bothering him. _

_And just as he was about to enter the store, a beautiful young woman came out of the store carrying a videotape in her right hand. She had blue eyes and shoulder length brown hair that was wild yet combed. _(Think Yuna's hairdo from FFX-2) _She wore a black tank top underneath a yellow jacket that exposed her shoulders and the straps of her tank top. Its sleeves were black and longer than her arms so she could hide her hands in __it__. She also wore a white miniskirt, black and pink striped stockings that stopped to her mid thigh, shinobi sandals and a necklace with a red teardrop pendant on it._

"_Sorry it took so long." She said. "But Akayashi Mizore has customized the film."_

_Kakashi scratched his head and said, "Well at least it's done."_

_Mizore then handed him the videotape and said, "I did everything you asked for. The tape works both ways. While it plays the contents on one side, it records on the other at the same time. All you need to do is…" she then pulled out a small cable from her pocket. "Plug this in the recording socket on one end and the other to your camera and use the play option. The screen becomes a twin relay that records and plays at the same time."_

_Kakashi then lazily replied, "Once again, I'm amazed at how ingenious you are."_

_The lazy beauty then said, "Don't thank me. After all, you're paying." She then handed him the cable and took out a lollipop from her pocket and began sucking on it. Kakashi no longer had any business here and said to her, "I guess I'll get going."_

"_Hold on there!" a voice spoke from the doors of the shop behind them. They turned to see who spoke and saw a dark, brown skinned, balding old man in nothing more than a white tank top tucked in a straight cut, black pants and worn out slippers. He had the same blue eyes that his daughter Mizore had but his were more drained indicating a colorful past. But what was most significant of him was the amount of black bands tattooed on his right arm starting from his wrist up to his forearm._

_The old man then walked closer and said to Kakashi, "It's a bit early to leave so soon. Can you spare an old man a few more minutes?"_

_Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose. "What's wrong?"_

_The old man then bowed to him and said, "My name is Akayashi Kwago. And I want to thank your for taking care of my daughter for the past few weeks."_

_Both Kakashi and Mizore were a bit startled with what he said. Kakashi then told the old man, "Oji-san…I haven't even thought about it. And now I'm her boyfriend?"_

_Mizore said to her father, "That's right. We're just business friends." After she said that, a middle-aged woman passed by and said, "Ohayo Mizore-chan! Is that your boyfriend?"_

_The lazy beauty turned to her and said, "Hai. He came by to meet the family."_

_Kakashi sweatdropped as the middle-aged woman giggled and left. The silver haired jounin then said, "Akayashi-san…Didn't you hear what I just said and what you said?"_

_Mizore then looked at him and replied, "What? You said something?"_

_Kakashi felt ashamed. Now he feels what Gai feels whenever he gives him that remark. Putting that thought aside, Kakashi then said, "Anyway, I better get going. I need to plug this in."_

_Mizore then asked him, "So why go through all this trouble?"_

_Kakashi then replied, "First of all, it's my mission. My target is…elusive. He's unpredictable, making it hard for me to pinpoint his acts and determine his next move."_

_Kwago then said, "You know, no matter how many times your target acts out of character, eventually he can be read."_

_Kakashi then said, "Not this one. He's quick on his feet and brain though he acts like an idiot. He's very resourceful and creative which is why not even ANBU security would be able to stop him."_

_Mizore then said to him, "Gambate."_

_End of Flashback_

After Kakashi finished reminiscing, they heard a voice call out from the intercom.

"Anko-sama…" the people in the room paid attention to the screen and saw the reporting chuunin. When the same man caught their attention, he then said, "We have confirmed that twenty-one people passed the Second Exam. According to Chuunin regulations, we will have to do preliminary matches for the first time in five years."

They were speechless after what they heard. Kakashi then chimed in, "Good thing I brought this empty video tape."

Sarutobi then said to Anko, "Despite your thoughts about this, we will continue the Exam." Anko was about to protest when the old Hokage continued. "But we will see what he is up to at the same time."

Anko then stood up and said, "Yes, sir!"

Sarutobi then put out his pipe and said, "One more thing, keep the medic nins on alert. You never know when a disaster can strike."

Kakashi then said, "Anything else Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi decided to take action on behalf of Naruto this time. "Who will be the referee of the matches?"

Izumo then said, "Hai! Gekko Hayate sir."

The old Hokage then said, "Switch him with Yukinose Haku. I have another task for him."

Izumo then protested, "But Hokage-sama, Haku is still a new chuunin."

Anko then faced Izumo and said, "All the more reason for him to be the referee. As his guardian, I recommend him."

Sarutobi then smiled and said, "Then that's settled. If you don't mind, I'll be at the main floor to explain to our participants." _'At least I was able to spare one life.'_

The old Hokage then left with Anko, Izumo and Kotetsu. Kakashi then quickly plugged his camera with the cable and plugged the other end to the recording device. He then hid the camera in a small space between the screens and switched the videotapes in haste as Izumo walked back in and said, "Hatake-san, no one else is allowed in here when the preliminaries start."

The silver haired jounin then took the used tape with him on his way out to meet up with his team while Izumo begun the recording of the preliminaries.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mizore was busy tending to the shop when her father came out of the storage room in the back holding up a tape. He then said to her, "Mizore-chan, this tape is the empty one that you were supposed to work on."

The lazy beauty then said, "So which tape did I end up working on?"

Her father shook his head and said, "You ended up switching the tapes and still fixed the wrong one. Did you even bother to check the contents first?"

Mizore replied, "Well, I thought everything was organized so I just took the tape from the small pile there in the back."

Kwago shook his head again and replied, "Buisit naman! Baka ung pirated movies ko ang inayos mo!" (Damn it! You might have fixed my pirated movies!)

Mizore then scratched her head and said, "Alright, let's check which tape I accidentally worked on. The list should be there."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The main lobby smelled of blood, sweat and tears. The room had a clean-cut, cement floor with two balconies opposite each other on the west and east side of the large room. In the north side was a giant screen with several smaller ones on the side's of it and two stone arms protruding from the center with the hands in the ram seal.

The twenty-one teams were lined up the same way as before. From Naruto's point of view, he could see fourteen nins in front of him. In the center was the sandaime. Behind sandaime's right side, stood a disguised Orochimaru with a new, regrown arm, as well as Baki, and Kurenai. Behind the sandaime's left, stood Gai, Kakashi, Asuma and one more Konoha nin. In front of his right side stood Iruka, Ibiki and two more Konoha nins. In front of his left, stood Anko, Haku and two more Konoha nins.

The young blonde then thought, _'Okay…the preliminaries. Sasuke doesn't have the cursed seal but that sudden transformation back in the forest might happen again. If that's the case, then I'd best contact Rukia, Inoue and Urahara-san to do a double reinforcement seal on Sasuke. That will be a pain to explain to Kakashi-sensei so we will run the risk of erasing that part of his memory.'_

The old Hokage then said, "First off, congratulations on passing the Second Exam."

The young blonde then closed his eyes and a **Kage Bunsin** materialized on the ceiling of the room. Naruto then telepathically sent his orders to his **bunshin** who upon receiving them, quickly **shunpo'd **out of there and ran as fast as he could back to the Namikaze house.

Naruto then thought again, _'One objective down. To prevent Lee from being destroyed by Gaara, someone has to step in but in the worst-case scenario, Inoue would have to restore Lee's wounds as well as the other nins' wounds. I don't think I can pull anyone else out from Ichigo's team since they're probably dealing with the new hollow threat in my world.'_

His furry tenant then replied, **So…you felt it and didn't panic. You trust them too much. But I'll take your word for it this time. Focus on your task rather than the things around you. Let them do the backdrop work while you fix the paint of the picture.**

Naruto then reopened his eyes with a new flame burning in his heart as a determined, but calm look adorned his face.

Hinata gazed at his back and could feel his heart burning with passion. She was nervous of being here but she decided to come here whether she would win or not. To her, just being with Naruto was more than enough. However, she wanted to not just watch his back, but also fight alongside him despite her fears. So she quickly built her resolve as a flame burned deeply in her heart.

But not all were ecstatic of the circumstances. Chouji rubbed his stomach and said, "I'm hungry."

Shikamaru then looked around from his position and said, "There's still this many people? How troublesome." _'But not as troublesome as what I found back in the Forest of Death.'_

_Flashback_

_Team Ten took a slight detour in the forest to rest before moving on. After all, they were just a couple of meters away from the tower. And it just so happened that they were close to the largest tree in the entire forest though it was hollow in the center._

_The lazy genius gazed upon it and said, "To think there are trees like this one here makes my day."_

_Ino then sat down on the floor and sighed. "Finally, some rest! All that constant action is making me exhausted."_

_Chouji's stomach audibly grumbled. The plump boy began putting his nose to work and sucked in the air through his nose for the aroma of food._

_Ino pouted when she saw Chouji's hungered state and said, "I won't complain this time but can you at least get food for all of us?"_

_Shikamaru replied, "Knowing Chouji, he'll eat everything before he comes back."_

_Despite the lazy genius' sarcastic remarks, he was energetic enough to follow Chouji in his quest for food. Chouji led the way with his nose in a small circle before he said, "There's food inside the tree!"_

_The plump boy ran towards the hollowed out tree when Shikamaru noticed a thin wire, barely visible and a centimeter above the grass. The lazy genius quickly pulled Chouji back and said, "Don't move. We're caught in a trap."_

_Chouji looked at where he was about to step in and saw the wire. He traced it with his eyes towards a nearby tree that had hidden darts slung in a makeshift slingshot that was camouflaged with a fake branch. But from the position it was in the forest, it was barely noticeable._

_Shikamaru then turned his head to Ino and said, "Ino, were stuck. We need your help but don't come close until I say so."_

_With quick thinking and proper timing, the trap was disarmed. Ino then berated Chouji. "That's what you get for letting that oversized stomach of yours to lead the way!"_

_Shikamaru paid no attention to her rantings and was curious why there was a trap there. He then went inside the tree through the opening in one of the roots that allowed him to crawl into._

_Ino saw him crawl in and said as she ran after him, "Hey! Don't leave me here!"_

_Chouji tailed behind her and Team Ten went inside and saw the wonderful, complex structure of nature that was the tree. Or rather, an aggregate of trees merged into one._

_Shikamaru then said, "I was right. That trap was a safeguard to protect anyone from entering here."_

_Chouji then said, "So someone lived here?"_

_The lazy genius replied, "Hai. The trap looked like it was weeks old so I guessed it was to protect the residents here. A place like this can house three people at the most."_

_Ino then placed her hands on her hips and said, "It's no use standing here gawking. We need food and fast!"_

_Team Ten then searched the hollow tree and noticed several things that were unusual. True enough, someone once lived here but all the belongings aside from what can be carried in a backpack were left behind._

_Shikamaru then approached what was once the bedroom and examined the fabric. He then thought, 'It's pretty worn out but was kept in good condition. Whoever used this must've used it for years.' He then approached the cabinet and wardrobe. 'No doubt someone lived here, but for how many years and why in this forest?'_

_Ino then hollered out to Shikamaru, "Hey! We found some dried fish here! Let's get going!"_

_Shikamaru was about to follow when he gave one last look at the entire room and went wide-eyed. He didn't notice it before since he was too focused on the objects that humans would use. He looked above the on the wall where the head of the bed was. He saw a three-pronged kunai with a seal written on the handle stuck on the same runic seal he saw last time in the Forest of Death._

_The lazy genius then quickly shouted to his teammates, "I'll be there! I left something." He quickly took down the three-pronged kunai and quickly hid it in his kunai holster. Just as Ino started losing her patience, he leaped down and joined his team to exit the tree and continue their trek towards the tower._

_End of Flashback_

Shikamaru then gazed at Naruto and thought, _'I have this strange feeling that this kunai is related to a lot of things about Naruto.'_

Not everyone was focused on the young blonde though. Most were focused on what was going to happen next. Things happened pretty much as they did the last time with just a few changes here and there but nothing too drastic.

Team Ten was tired and wanted to head home, Team Eight was geared and ready, Team Suna, Oto as well as Team Kabuto kept their calm and debated on their next steps while Team Neji was fired up for the next bouts. Only Team Seven looked like they were just fresh from the Forest though they were well rested.

Naruto kept sharp until a Hell butterfly silently hovered close to his left ear making Sasuke and Sakura shudder when they saw it.

Naruto then listened well to what the black butterfly whispered and his eyes sharpened when he heard the news. Shikamaru, Shino, and Sasuke noticed his sudden change in mood as if it were a sudden breeze. They kept their gaze on the butterfly as it left until Anko said on her microphone attached to her ear, "We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama. Everyone, listen well."

Sarutobi then explained the reasons for the Exams and everyone understood what it implied.

After the explanation, Gaara, who wasn't wasteful of time said, "I don't care. Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam."

Sarutobi then cleared his throat and said, "Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam. But…"

Haku then leaped and landed right in front of the Hokage in a kneeling position on his right knee and said, "Excuse me, Hokage-sama, I, Yukinose Haku, the judge, will explain."

Ino then made a small squeal and thought, _'Finally! Something to look forward to in this Exam!'_

Haku then faced the remaining teams and smiled making Ino, Kin and Temari blush. The young bishounen then said, "It's nice to meet everyone. Before the Exam…" Haku took on a serious face at this part making the teams pay attention as he continued. "There's something I want you to do."

They focused on the next words that he was going to say with their hearts in their throats. Haku then said, "You will fight in a preliminary match to see who gets to battle in the Third Exam."

Shikamaru protested. "Preliminary matches? What do you mean?"

Sakura then said, "Haku-san, I don't understand. Why do we have to do preliminary matches? Can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining teams?"

Haku then said, "Though we can start right away with the remaining teams, it would take too long and take too much of our guests' time. Also, it is part of Chuunin regulations and we ourselves don't have enough time."

Haku paused a bit as he saw three unusual medic nins enter the premises from the entrance that the remaining teams used.

"Sumimasen!" the red haired one said as her medic nin hood was down showing her long locks of hair tied with two snowflake shaped hair clips at the sides. Of course, those weren't the only things eye-catching about her since her shapely figure implied that she was more than just fit.

Next to the red-haired woman was a man in a similar outfit except he had long black bangs parted to the side so as to not cover his rectangular framed glasses. And lastly, was another woman who was much shorter than the red-haired one and had short, black, shoulder-length hair. One bang lay over her forehead and reached her left cheek; she had blue eyes.

Haku, as the other nins aside from Naruto, Hinata, and Sarutobi, did not recognize them as they entered the ward where the other medic nins waited.

Seeing as there were no other interruptions present, Haku then continued, "If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanations, please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately."

Several protested. Namely, Kiba, and Team Ten. But Naruto kept a cool sharp gaze while Hinata was building her strength and confidence. Kakashi noticed Naruto's steel resolve and made a mental note about giving him a position of leadership on their next mission.

Haku then said, "It would be wise to think about your next moves from here because the matches will be one-on-one throughout the exam."

Sasuke then felt a sudden tingling pain in his left arm. He grabbed it with his right hand to ease the pain but it still remained. He then thought, _'It's happening again. I need to fight it.'_

Naruto and Sakura noticed Sasuke flinching and Sakura understood what was going on. She then said to the young Uchiha, "Sasuke-kun, you should withdraw from the preliminary matches."

Sasuke then replied, "Why?"

Sakura then said, "Because you've been acting weird after that Orochimaru guy nearly beat you."

Naruto then said, "Sasuke…it's up to you. I won't force you to fight if you don't want to. Neither does Sakura. I still want to see you in one piece."

Anko noticed Sasuke's slightly distressed state. She then said to the sandaime, "Hokage-sama, that's probably were the cursed seal was placed on him."

Sarutobi then nodded and thought, _'So Orochimaru did place a cursed seal on him.'_

Orochimaru on the other hand noticed what was happening to Sasuke and raised an eyebrow as he thought, _'Sasuke-kun, whatever could have happened to you? Hopefully it's minor and not permanent damage to that young body of yours.'_

Sasuke and Sakura continued arguing until Kabuto said, "I'll quit." His voice snapped them to attention.

Haku then said, "Is that so? Then, Yakushi Kabuto, you may leave."

The sandaime then said to Anko, "He's a dangerous individual…" the wild woman then made a mark on her mind while Ibiki fixed his right glove which was the signal to the nearby ANBU to keep an eye on Kabuto.

Haku then said, "Is there anyone else who wants to give up?"

Sakura was about to raise her hand until Sasuke stopped her. Naruto listened to every word he said to Sakura and still wasn't happy with Sasuke's attitude.

The young blonde then said, "So you'll sacrifice everything for your cause?"

Sasuke faced him and said, "Yes. I will." He then faced Sakura and said, "I won't even let you change that path."

The raven-haired boy then faced Naruto and said, "I want to fight you too Naruto. I will win this time."

Naruto sharpened his gaze at Sasuke and said, "I'm looking forward to it." _'Some things won't change right away so I might as well make things interesting.'_

Sarutobi then said to Anko, "Let's let Sasuke go on, and just observe him for now."

Anko said in protest, "Hokage-sama!"

"However," Sarutobi replied. "If the cursed seal opens up and his powers become uncontrollable, stop him." _'How on earth did Sasuke get the cursed seal? Naruto should have stopped Orochimaru from giving it. I have a bad feeling about this.'_

Anko was about to protest again but just frowned and said, "Wakarimashta."

Haku then said, "Then let's begin the preliminary matches. It will be a one-on-one match. This is a real fight. Now that we have exactly twenty people, there will be ten matches and the winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules so you will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out or surrenders. If you don't want to die, please give up immediately. But if I judge that the match is over, I will stop you to prevent meaningless deaths." Haku then faced Anko who quickly nodded and said over her microphone, "Open it."

The cement wall protecting the top left screen retracted. Haku took that as his cue and said, "The electric bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match. And I will now display the names of the first match."

The bulletin board lit up and random names began to scroll through the screen until it stopped at two names…

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Akadou Yoroi Vs. Uchiha Sasuke

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Haku then said, "So that's it…will the fighters whose names were displayed remain while the rest stand by the balconies?"

They complied and moved towards the balcony. Kakashi casually stood behind Sasuke and softly told Sasuke what was going on. Sasuke wasn't very pleased with what he heard and was put in a bind as the silver haired jounin continued to his place in the balcony.

As Sasuke and Yoroi stood in front of each other, Sakura was worried about Sasuke since he still needed to recover. Hinata on the other hand, was worried about Naruto since there was no guarantee that things wouldn't be different this time and she might end up fighting him.

As the remaining noncombatants stood on the balconies in pretty much the same positions as before, Haku then said, "The first match will be Akadou Yoroi Vs. Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?"

Neither objected. Sakura then thought, _'All I can do now is watch…Sasuke-kun…'_

Naruto then gripped the railing as he looked down where the two were poised and ready. He then thought, _'Kami-sama….I'm going to need all the help I can get to bring back Sasuke.'_

Orochimaru crossed his arms and thought, _'Sasuke, Yoroi's ability will turn out dreadful for you…'_

Sasuke thought back to what Kakashi said. _'Kakashi-sensei knew. But to defeat him without using my __**Sharingan **__will be hard. Now, how should I fight?'_

The raven-haired boy stood poised and ready. While his opponent assessed his options. Everyone was tense while Naruto stood calm and strong. Haku then shifted his eyes between the two and said, "Hajime!"

Yoroi quickly put his hands in the tiger seal and said, "Let's go!"

Yoroi's right hand flared with chakra while his left hand, inside his back pocket,

was ready to pull out whatever he needed while Sasuke kept poised in his fighting stance.

They kept a sharp eye on each other and were wary and steady while staying relaxed.

Despite their hard-pressed concentration, something usually goes wrong. And like Kon in the middle of a tense political discussion, the electric bulletin suddenly showed something else aside from the matches as the sounds accommodating the show reverberated in the room. Everyone looked at the board and became speechless while their eyes became saucers.

Sakura was jawdropped, Ino slumped to the wall, Kurenai tried to calm down a blushing Hinata, while Anko was holding her laughter in with little success. Sasuke, the most horrified, saw a video of his embarrassing dance in the gay bar suddenly show up on the screen.

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Back in the video store within the red light district of Konoha, Mizore hollered out to her father, "I found it!"

Kwago then approached her and looked over the list in her hand and found what he was looking for. When he realized what it was that was switched, he then said, "You had the video of that time in the gay bar mixed up with the empty one?"

The lazy beauty then said, "I hope Kakashi doesn't mind that the videos are switched."

Kwago shook his head and said, "Just as long as he hasn't plugged it in, he'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

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Sasuke was speechless and in shock. His mind was about to shut down when he heard his opponent laughing and rolling around the floor.

"Hahahaha! THAT is my enemy?!" Yoroi said in mockery. "No wonder you're so feared, their too afraid of your hobbies!"

That triggered Sasuke's resolve as his temper flared. His **Sharingan **was ablaze and he made a mad dash towards the now distracted Yoroi.

The undercover sound nin didn't know what hit him. Sasuke kicked him upwards with his right leg and his right hand planted on the ground.

Lee was surprised by the move he saw as Sasuke leaped into the air used **Kage Buyo** to follow up behind an airborne Yoroi. Soon, everyone was surprised except Naruto who knew what Sasuke was going to do.

The young blonde then smirked and said, "It's over."

Sasuke then said from behind Yoroi, "From here on out, it's all original though." He then placed his right, pointer and middle finger on Yoroi's spine and said, "Eat this!"

Unfortunately, the runic seals were reopening from his chest area and are starting to reappear on his body once more causing intense pain. Sasuke was using all his might to fight the pain.

Naruto saw what was happening and thought, _'The Soul Trackers in my body have expired already so I won't be able to contact them.'_

He wasn't the only one to see the runes since Team Ten, who were able to see them up close, noticed it and caused Shikamaru's brain to move into survival mode just In case Sasuke went berserk.

Sasuke then said as he griped in pain, "Kuso, it responds even when it doesn't need to." He then remembered when Sakura hugged him and pleaded for him to stop and Naruto's small speech when the young blonde rescued him from Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. With that thought it mind he then thought again, _'I can't believe I've gotten them worried. I won't let this thing take over!'_

Kakashi kept a steel gaze at Sasuke and thought, _'This must be it.'_

Orochimaru, Sarutobi and Anko were surprised by what they saw.

Orochimaru then thought, _'THAT'S NOT MY CURSED SEAL!! I NEVER GAVE HIM ONE SO WHAT IS THAT?!'_

Anko was wide-eyed and thought, _'I've never seen a cursed seal like that one!'_

As suddenly as it came, the seal began to return. The wild woman went-wide eyed and thought, '_The cursed seal withdrew?!'_

Sasuke felt his control return again. He then made a small smile and said, "Let's get this on."

He then threw his left hand and grabbed the back of Yoroi's shirt and threw him to his left side and gave a left kick that Yoroi easily blocked with his left arm.

Yoroi then said, "Not good enough."

Sasuke quickly withdrew his right leg and used his faster momentum and better balance to slightly swerve to the right and give the undercover nin a left backfist to the face.

Seeing the hit connect, Kakashi lazily mumbled, "No, you're not good enough.

Sasuke wasn't finished yet. He then twisted his body so that he was facing Yoroi. He threw a right hook to the nin's stomach and used the momentum to spin his body.

Sasuke then said, "I'm not done!" he quickly dropped his right leg on Yoroi's chest just as they both landed on the floor with Yoroi's body making a small crack on it. He then shouted, "**Shishi Rendan!**"

After the attack, Sasuke fell on the floor and skidded to the side and landed on his front while Yoroi coughed out blood. Haku maintained his cool as he awaited both fighters to get up.

Haku then knelt down beside Yoroi and saw that he was unconscious but in critical condition.

The young bishounen thought, _'Sasuke sure is something.'_

Sasuke got up, panting with a little blood dripping from his mouth. He quickly wiped it away with his arm warmer and deactivated his **Kekkei Genkai**.

Haku then announced, "The match is over. Winner of the first match is Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura and Ino smiled as the show on the electric bulletin board stopped and the screen returned back to normal.

Naruto gave Sasuke his foxy grin and said, "Now that's the Sasuke we know!"

Sasuke tried to stand but nearly collapsed backwards until Kakashi appeared behind him while lazily reading _**Icha Icha Violence**_.

The silver haired jounin then said, "You did okay. The move before the **Shishi Rendan** was a Gai hand-to-hand combat move."

Sakura felt she could relax and thought, _'Sasuke-kun…I'm so glad.'_

Sasuke begun to feel the stress accumulated from performing the move and thought, _'It seems that I can't use the move consecutively too much.'_

Lee, who watched intently, then thought, _'I see, so you copied part of the moves I used on you just once. That must be your ability. Sasuke-kun, you are incredible. You become stronger and stronger. I even feel some fear of you.'_

Gai, who also watched intently thought, _'__**Renge**__, a series of high-speed hand-to-hand combat moves…cannot be done unless you train very hard. It's not something a person can just use right away because he used his __**Sharingan**__. Also, that idea he came up with for the finishing move…Kakashi, this boy reminds me of you when you were young.'_

Tenten wondered who was stronger now. Was it Hyuuga Neji or Uchiha Sasuke?

While all were agape in wonder of Sasuke's abilities, Anko was shocked that he held the curse seal back in. Of course, that didn't last too long as Sasuke gripped his chest and made a slight grunt as the runic seals began to reappear and disappear.

Anko then thought, _'Though he held it in back there, he isn't doing too well now. He must be at his limits.'_

Naruto saw what was happening and said to Sakura, "It's happening again Sakura." Of course, this didn't fall upon deaf ears as Kiba managed to hear what he said clearly while Shikamaru read the young blonde's lips. The lazy genius thought, _'That strange seal on Sasuke is reappearing again. But with the adults looking into it, there won't be any problems.' _He then looked at Naruto from his leaning position on the wall and thought, _'So with that out of the way, I can focus on finding out more about Naruto. This preliminaries is the perfect way to unwravel the secrets of Naruto and find the connection between him, the seals and this three-pronged kunai.'_

Sakura then shouted to Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun, are you okay?"

Kakashi then knelt down to Sasuke and said, "Well, I did warn you."

Sasuke then whispered back, "I'll get you for that tape one of these days. And everyone will know your true colors."

Kakashi's visible eye became a u shape as he pat Sasuke's shoulder and said, "Well, no harm done. But we better fix you up."

Kakashi then slung Sasuke's right arm over his shoulder as Rukia, Ishida and Inoue came out to tend to the wounded. The three of them had the medic's cap on to make it more official.

Rukia and Ishida put Yoroi on a stretcher and took him back to the ward while Inoue did a routine checkup on Sasuke and then said, "Your heartbeat is irregular. We need to treat you right away."

Kakashi then said to her, "This isn't your field. I'll take him."

Inoue wasn't easily deterred by such words. "It will be alright. We just need him to rest while we bandage him. I'll leave him to you if there is anything we can't do."

Kakashi then whispered into Sasuke's ear, "I'll take you into the back room and seal that cursed seal."

Sasuke then replied, "Wait until the preliminaries are over! I want to see the matches of the guys who will move on to the main event."

Their voices naturally became louder as they argued. And because of this, they were oblivious of a smiling Orochimaru and agitated Gaara. In fact, they didn't notice Inoue get close to them and place a suppressor seal on Sasuke's right foot as she checked his bruises.

Inoue then took Sasuke's left arm over her shoulder. She then smiled and said, "Okay. Let's go."

Kakashi, begrudgingly complied with Inoue's will and said to Sasuke, "I won't listen to your selfish requests twice."

Sasuke swallowed his pride and surrendered to their wills as the three walked into the back room were the rest of the medical team awaited him.

All Sakura could do now was hope and wait as she watched them walk away. The rest of the participants and a few of the jounins hoped that things would go smoothly from here and there would be no interruptions.

With Sasuke and Kakashi gone from the lobby, Haku then said, "Now, we will begin the next match."

Everyone gazed with anxiousness on the electric bulletin board as it lit up. Several names were scrolling in random on the board making the participants a bit more anxious. However Naruto wasn't anxious the way the others were. He thought, _'The lineup will be set if it happens…'_

And like clockwork, two names lit up on the screen…

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Zaku Abumi Vs. Aburrame Shino

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Naruto then mumbled, "As I thought."

Sakura who was next to him then faced him and said, "What do you mean?"

Naruto then cried anime tears and said, "I knew that it's not my turn yet to show of my new jutsu!"

Sakura then sighed and shook her head as Zaku and Shino took their places in the makeshift arena.

Haku then said, "We will now begin the second match." _'It seems a lot of things are changing, especially here in this preliminaries. I hope nothing goes wrong.'_

Sakura was worried for the bug-user as was Hinata being that said user was her teammate. Nevertheless, she knew that Shino was in for a long battle even if the opponent is handicapped.

The pink-haired girl thought, _'He's the guy that got his arms broken by Sasuke-kun. He's going to fight with those arms?'_

Hinata gazed down at the two fighters and asked Kiba, "Is Shino-kun going to be ok?"

The dog boy responded, "Yeah, he's strong. I don't want to fight him either." _'Especially after the training he did with us.'_

Hinata thought back to what he said and knew what was going to happen. She then thought, _'Naruto-kun said that if ever Shino would fight against that guy, he would win. I know he's right but why am I still nervous?'_

She then looked to at Neji and saw the cold and calculating look in his eyes. The stoic boy was analyzing the two fighters and thought, _'There's no way he would lose. This battle is already decided. The Aburame Clan's bugs eat chakra and that Sound is already handicapped.' _But as he looked to Naruto, he noticed that Naruto wasn't paying attention to the battle. In fact, he was reading from a black book.

However, the young blonde wasn't the only one that was missing in action. Orochimaru **shunsined** out of there just in time without being noticed as the staredown between Shino and Zaku came to a close.

Haku then said, "Hajime!"

Shino then said to his opponent, "If you fight me here, then you will never be able to fight again. Retire."

Zaku didn't back down and pulled out his left arm to indicate he could still fight. "One arm is good enough for you!"

With that said, Zaku, in a burst of speed, made the first move and attacked Shino. As the battle began between the chakra dependent users, the battle to close the new wormholes for hollows to enter was coming to a close just on the outskirts of Konoha.

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Ichigo was in his bankai form and just ended another hollow's life with a swing from his black nodachi. The orange haired shinigami then said, "Renji, cover me!"

Renji replied, "Don't take too long." He then transformed into his bankai form and sent Zabimaru on the unsuspecting hollows. He swung left and right, up and down before leaping into the air and landing on the invisible flooring there. Zabimaru coiled around Renji before releasing a ball of red energy at the mob of hollows by the new wormhole. It burned up the hollows leaving nothing but dust of soul particles.

Renji then shouted to Ichigo, "Oi, Ichigo! Move!"

Ichigo then faced his left to see Chad with his transformed right arm and said, "Ikuso, Chad!" the two then jumped into the wormhole.

Renji then heard more howling and saw the remaining hollows around him were the Gillian class. There were more than a handful of them but they were unorganized. Renji then brought out his GPS and called up Yoruichi. He then said over the phone, "Urahara-san, how many more?"

Urahara then replied, "That's the last one. Yoruichi is coming with the new sealing bomb. Can you hold on until then?"

Renji then smirked and said, "These types of battles are what a shinigami is all about." He then shut down the phone and shouted, "All right you bastards! I'll show you what the fukutaicho of the sixth division can do!"

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While the battle against the hollows and the preliminaries were going on, yet another battle ensued. Kakashi had taken Sasuke to another room although he wasn't happy that Inoue followed. He made the same sealing ritual as before except the blood seal started from Sasuke's chest where a runic, western-like seal was on it with a dark outline of a scar from a blast of gunpowder in the center.

When Kakashi finished writing, he then said to Sasuke, "Bear with this a little. It'll be done in no time."

Inoue then asked, "Are you sure this will work?" _'I don't think that 'that' form of sealing will work on a hollow.'_

Kakashi then said, "For a curse seal like his, it should prevent most of it. Now it's my turn to ask a question." The silver haired jounin's visible eye sharpened while his face frowned. "Who are you? And what is your purpose here?"

Inoue was about to panic until Rukia came in and said, "We are just doctors who are concerned for the village's soldiers."

Ishida came in as well and said as he adjusted his glasses, "What about you? How are we to know that what you're doing is helping him instead of hurting him? You're not even a medic nin."

Kakashi coldy replied, "Don't get so nervous. Trust me, I have experience here…More enough than you. I can tell you guys are new recruits so just stand still and pay attention." _'Fugaku must have sent them to watch over Sasuke. He never did trust anyone after the massacre of his clan.'_

Sasuke then gripped his chest in pain as the seal tried to spread while it glowed an eerie blue. Kakashi then said, "We don't have time for this." The silver haired jounin ritually performed several handseals and then said, "**Fuuja Houin!**" he then placed his right hand on Sasuke's chest. Sasuke was squirming in pain. Ishida, Rukia and Inoue did what they could to hold him down.

Inoue then shouted, "It will be alright! Hold on!"

Within a few seconds, the blood writings seeped into the runic seal and formed a summoning suppressor seal around it. Sasuke made one final howl of pain and fainted as the glowing rune on his chest receded till only the dark outline of the scar remained.

Inoue then asked, "Is he alright now?"

Rukia placed her hand over the seal to feel the chakra and reiatsu from it. She then shook her head and said, "No, the seal wasn't strong enough. This will only last for a few hours at the most."

Kakashi then said, "All that and it won't last? Are you sure?"

Rukia then said, "I can do some sealing jutsus. For a power like his, it would take more than a simple chakra seal to hold it."

Kakashi replied, "If that's the case we have to do the sealing jutsu again. And to think, that was my strongest seal."

Suddenly, an all to familiar voice of a villain said, "So you can use sealing techniques now. You've grown Kakashi."

Kakashi recognized the voice and turned around to see the disguised Orochimaru walking towards him with an evil smile. The snake-sannin then slyly said, "It's been a long time, Kakashi-kun."

Ishida then stood in front of Kakashi and said to the snake-sannin, "Anata dare?!"

Orochimaru snickered and paid them no attention. "I'm sorry, but I have no business with any of you. But I do have business with the boy behind you."

Kakashi then asked, "Why are you after Sasuke?"

Orochimaru then said, "You're lucky. You already got what you wanted. You didn't have _'that'_ a long time ago. That **Sharingan** in your left eye…I want it too…Uchiha's powers that is."

Things began unraveling in Kakashi's mind though there were still other unanswered questions. "What is your purpose?"

Rukia then said, "He's just another power hungry tyrant. We have to keep him away from Sasuke at all cost." She then took a fighting stance, and pulled out a wakizashi from its hidden position underneath the back of her medic robe. Ishida decided to act as well and pulled out a handheld crossbow from his robe and aimed its ready and cocked state at Orochimaru as if he was holding a gun. Inoue then stood in front of Sasuke to become his shield if necessary.

Rukia then thought, _'I can't revert to a shinigami in this position. But if he proves too much in this current state, I'll have to shift.'_

Orochimaru then snickered and said, "Let's not get hasty. I haven't made Sasuke mine yet."

Kakashi went wide-eyed at statement. He then thought, _'Orochimaru never gave him a cursed seal? Then what was that?'_

The snake-sannin then said, "Surprised Kakashi-kun? So was I. Your student, Naruto, prevented me from giving him my cursed seal. I was angry that he stopped me, but things began to swing in a different direction. And now, I want _it_ even more."

Kakashi then said, "So, that's it?"

Orochimaru replied, "Just kidding. But I'll tell you this, Otogakure, the recently made village, is mine. You understand if I just say that, right?"

Ishida then said, "What a stupid ambition. All that trouble for that?"

The snake-sannin replied, "Oh, my…that was blunt. But to accomplish my ambition, I need pieces to become my legs and arms and accomplish things for me."

Inoue then said, "We won't let you make Sasuke your slave."

Orochimaru kept his evil smile and said, "Slave? You speak as if he's a pawn. He'd be hurt if he heard you."

Kakashi then said, "So what is he to you?"

Orochimaru replied, "He's a supreme piece. The pawns…are the ones taking the exam right now."

Orochimaru began to take slow steps towards them. Ishida didn't hestate and fired the first bolt at the snake sannin. The sickly looking man wasn't fazed and caught the arrow in mid flight before it could touch the skin of his forehead. He then dropped the arrow, only to realize that the crossbowman wasn't in front of him. Instincts took over and he side-stepped to the left and grabbed Ishida's gun arm with his right to prevent a point black shot to the back. He then gave a right side kick to Ishida in the gut only for the crossbowman to grab it with his left and throw it to the left side. Orochimaru let go of the man's gun arm and used the momentum of his thrown right kick to give a left kick to the right ribs of the man. Ishida saw it coming and blocked it with his right arm before stepping back to make some distance.

Orochimaru was able to gain balance despite the haphazard move and returned to his neutral stance with his hands in his pocket. He then chuckled and said, "Kukukukuku. It seems that Konoha hasn't lost it fangs yet." He then looked over his shoulder and saw Rukia, pointing her wakizashi at the center of his spine while she stood in a stance, ready to stab it in.

The snake sannin then turned to face her who didn't flinch or back away. Instead, she brought the blade close to his neck and said, "You're outnumbered and outmatched. Surrender or pay with your life." Just as she finished, Ishida was at the snake sannin's left side, pointing the reloaded crossbow at his left temple. But that wasn't all. They then heard the sound of crackling like the chirping of birds. It wasn't hard to see over Rukia considering her size so the snake sannin clearly saw Kakashi, in the horse stance, holding his right arm with his left while his right hand was powering up the **Raikiri**.

Kakashi then said, "I won't let take Sasuke. Even if you are one of the legendary Sannin, I can sacrifice my life to kill you." Orochimaru laughed in mockery making Kakashi ask with a frown, "What's so funny?"

The snake sannin, still fully aware of the weapons pointed at him replied, "What you say and do don't agree with each other." Seeing that they needed an explanation from the puzzled looks on their faces, he continued. "There's no point in using that seal. Even your comrades here know it. Sasuke-kun has a heart that seeks power no matter how evil it is. He simply possesses that kind of disposition. He is an avenger."

Inoue then said, "And you tried to take advantage of his weakness. But…"

Orochimaru then interrupted and said, "Kukuku. You still don't get it? Eventually, he will seek me out." Orochimaru then took three back steps before turning around and saying, "Seek me out for power that is." He then walked out and faded back into the background taking with him, the tense atmosphere allowing them to power down and lower their weapons.

Rukia then said as she sheathed her blade, "At least he's gone for now."

Ishida then said, "We better strengthen the seal now or else." Inoue looked at the silver haired jounin and back at Ishida who just replied, "It can't be helped. We're running out of time."

Rukia stood in front of Sasuke and placed her hands in the snake handseal and chanted, "**Walls of Iron sand, a priestly pagoda, glowing iron-clad fireflies, standing upright, silent to the end.**" Five orbs of reiatsu then slipped out of her clutched hands and hovered around them. She then slammed her fist into the drawn seal in the earth allowing the orbs to do the same as she shouted, "**Bakudo number seventy-five, Gochuutekkan!**"

Five pillars of stone pinned Sasuke's arms, legs and chest to the floor and cracked it underneath him. The force was strong enough to shake the ground and the ceiling for a moment. Luckily enough, they were in a secluded area so no one was aware. Kakashi's visible eye widened with what he saw. But that wasn't enough. Rukia then raised her right hand and faced it at the prone Sasuke and said, "**Bakudo number sixty-one, ****rikujōkōrō!**" a bright yellow light burst from Rukia's hand and restrained Sasuke's midsection in a way that his body was the center and the lights were like petals from a flower.

Isihida then brought out his **Seele Schneider**arrows. Without activating them, he stabbed them parallel to the stone pillars holding Sasuke down on the outermost circle of the ritual seal. The Quincy then said to Inoue, "Inoue, put up the barrier."

Inoue nodded and said, "**Santen Kesshun, **watashi wa kyozetsu suru." Soon after that, a barrier of yellow energy in a large triangle prism, covered the sealed Sasuke. Overall, Kakashi was extremely shocked.

But that didn't stop there, Rukia then stood at the head of Sasuke while Ishida stood on the left foot and Inoue at the right. Ishida then said, "We better not screw this up. One wrong move can be dangerous for us."

Inoue then said, "Demo, I'm still new to this." Ishida replied, "So am I and Kuchiki-san as well."

Kakashi asked in haste, "What are you going to do?"

Rukia answered, "complete the seal. It's a gamble since we're new at this, but we've seen this type of sealing in the past although what we have now isn't an exact copy, we can manage. But we have more experience in this than you do." With that done, she nodded to her comrades and the trio began simultaneously doing the **Kuji-in** handseals as they recited at the same time, "**Rin, Pyō, Tō, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen**!" When they were finished, they continued to hold the last handseal as the quadruple reiatsu barrier began to deconstruct and reconstruct on the seal on Sasuke's body. Sasuke wasn't affected but Rukia begun to wane and was about to collapse before she regained her composure.

"Kuchiki-san!" Inoue blurted.

Rukia answered, "I'm fine. I didn't know how much power it would take to maintain the seal."

Ishida then said, "Those last two **kido** spells took only a small amount of your reserves. How much reiatsu is needed to maintain the seal?"

But the painful part withered away as the first **hakudo **reconstructed themselves on the seal of Kakashi causing the seal to become bolder in lettering. But Rukia had become exhausted and Ishida was approaching his limit as well.

Kakashi saw the sweat on Rukia and how she was struggling to keep awake. He then gently shoved her out and took her position and held the seal for her. Rukia, baffled by Kakashi's move then said, "What are you doing?! That's a high-powered forbidden technique! A man of your level wouldn't be able to hold it. You could die!"

And true enough, Kakashi could feel the weight of the technique on his body and spirit as he too was struggling to keep awake for his life. He then said, "You should've told me that earlier…matakun…But since I'm here already, I need to keep it up or else I _will_ die." _'Am I mad?! Doing something this dangerous with an unknown __**jutsu**__. Now I need to hold it or else!'_

Rukia then shouted, "Kakashi-dono, let me do this. You have no knowledge of reiatsu and kido. Yamekudasai!"

But Kakashi didn't respond and the second** hakudo** reconstructed itself on the seal in the form of a ring of the kanji for the **Kuji-in**. by this time, Kakashi suddenly got pushed back by an invisible force. He hit the pillar and slumped to the floor before shaking his head and saying, "What was that?"

Rukia quickly took his place and held the handseal and said, "His inner hollow is finally resisting. We're almost there."

Kakashi was baffled by everything that was happening. What was kido? And what is reiatsu? And furthermore, what was a hollow? These were the main questions in his mind aside from the identity of these people and their arcane talents. The silver haired jounin got up and noticed a silhouette of a binding force on Sasuke coming from his chest area and wrapping around him. Kakashi then pulled up his hitai-ate to reveal his **Sharingan** and was surprised to see chains coming from Sasuke's chest and they were flailing about attempting to break the last barrier.

'_What is this?'_ Kakashi thought. But suddenly, another burst of reiatsu flashed out. Rukia, Ishida and Inoue managed to shield themselves since they were used to such things. Kakashi however, felt the aftershock as it hit him and flashed in his **Sharingan**. He screamed for a while as he covered his left eye.

Inoue saw Kakashi lift up his hitai-ate and reveal his left eye only to get hit by the reiatsu backlash. She then said, "He needs to get out of here! If he gets hit again th—"

Rukia interrupted, "There's nothing we can do. We can't leave the sealing circle just yet."

Ishida said, "Just a little more. When they grab on to the **Seele Schneider**, it'll be over."

And true enough, the flailing chains grabbed on to the steel arrows. Ishida shouted, "Now!"

Rukia then shouted, "Akuryou taisen!" the steel arrows activated and sent a power surge through the chains and it hit the center causing Sasuke's body to go in shock. The chains receded back into the raven-haired boy's body and the final barrier collapsed. Rukia and Ishida fell to the floor while Inoue ran to help out Kakashi.

When she got to him, she then asked, "Daijobu Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi then let go of his left eye when the pain receded. He then replied, "Yes. But something feels weird."

Inoue then noticed that Kakashi's left eye no longer had the **Sharingan**. It was the natural brown color instead. The orange haired woman then said, "Your left eye…it's no longer red."

Kakashi took down his hitai-ate and used it as a mirror to see his eye. He was surprised that it was brown. He tried pouring chakra to his eyes and noticed that his **Sharingan **was back. He sighed in relief but was shocked to notice he had the **Sharingan** in both eyes.

"How?" he asked himself.

Inoue then said, "Maybe it's the side effect of getting hit by that powerful reiatsu blast when you activated it."

He then said, "That means that my **Sharingan** has an off switch now and they are on both eyes."

Inoue then faced her other two comrades and said, "He's alright."

Despite the miraculous new gain in abilities, Kakakshi thought, _'Medic nins with the ability to suppress chakra of that magnitude…no, it didn't feel like chakra. It felt like something else. Who are these people? I've never seen people who have the ability to perform high powered medical related sealing jutsus since Tsunade and Jiraya during the Great Shinobi Wars.'_

Just in time, Sasuke started to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he could see the faces of Rukia and Ishida. He then said, "What happened?"

Ishida then informed him, "We managed to suppress the evil reiatsu that was trying to take over. You should get some rest now. Doctor's orders."

Sasuke stood up and put on his shirt. He then replied without facing them, "No thanks. I'm going to watch the next matches."

Ishida protested and said, "Going now might reopen the seal we nearly died to give you. Get some rest if you value your life."

Sasuke then replied, "You can't stop me this time."

Inoue then came in between them and said, "Don't worry. It'll be all right. It's sealed so he'll be fine." Ishida wanted not to protest further since he didn't want to have the hassle of dealing with people like Sasuke at the moment.

Kakashi walked shakily towards Sasuke with his hitai-ate back on its original position. He then said to Sasuke, "Well, I can't stop you now. So we'll head back."

Rukia then said, "Then we'll be back at our posts."

With that, Ishida picked up his steel arrows, and followed Rukia and Inoue back to the medics' quarters. However, as they walked, Rukia then sent a text message to Yoruichi that Kakashi got involved at the last minute and there was a slight side effect because of that.

Of course, by the time the message was sent, Kakashi and Sasuke arrived at time that Naruto's match was up.

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Haku looked over the fallen Zaku who's arms were swollen and had just burst from the pressure of the chakra bugs that Shino sent down his arms. Haku then faced Shino and said, "This match is over." He then announced, "Winner, Aburame Shino."

Naruto then said, "That's Shino for you. Sneaky as always."

Lee then asked Neji, "Who is he Neji?"

Neji then gazed at Shino and used his **Byakugan** to find out what was odd about him. He then gasped and said, "What a guy. I would understand if he summoned those bugs with a jutsu, but…he lets the bugs live inside him."

Lee was surprised. Gai then said, "He must be part of the clan in Konoha that controls bugs."

Neji then said, "I've heard of it before…The story of the clan that lends their body as a nest to bugs upon birth and uses them to fight. They control bugs with their minds, and let the bugs battle for them. In exchange, they give their own chakra as food to the bugs."

Shino then walked back up to the balcony to join his team as a medical team brought Zaku to the back room for treatment.

Kin and Dosu were now inwardly panicking. But the ones who were the least panicked were Team Eight. As Shino walked towards them, Hinata said to him, "Shino-kun, good job."

"Good job." Kiba curtly replied.

Shino then answered, "Yes, I expect you guys to do the same." He then faced the arena, completely ignoring Kiba and Hinata. Kiba was pissed that he was acting like the leader. Hinata on the other hand, had different thoughts in mind. She quickly asked Shino, "Shino-kun, what if, you ended up fighting someone you care about?"

This brought Kiba and Kurenai's attention to her question. Shino knew what Hinata was implying and replied without looking back, "Why did you come if you knew that it could happen?"

Hinata twiddled her fingers nervously and muttered, "That is…"

Kurenai then said to her, "Hinata, never have we ever doubted you. You are a strong girl. You should not forget the reason why you came here in the first place. You did this for yourself and no one else so there is no reason that you won't end up fighting against the one you care for the most."

Hinata faced her and said with an unsure smile. "Arigato sensei. But, even so…I might still give way for that person."

Kurenai replied, "You're too kind Hinata. But always remember, that nothing is more disappointing than never having tried at all."

Kiba then pat the Hyuuga heiress' shoulder and said, "Hehehe. For Naruto over there, you've done some reckless things."

Hinata blushed when she heard that as Naruto suddenly asked them, "Eh? Was someone calling me?"

Hinata then waved her arms a bit before saying, "No-nothing's wrong Naruto-kun."

Naruto then returned to facing the arena as Haku said, "Let us move on to the next match."

Sakura then said, "I'm worried about Sasuke-kun. Why hasn't Kakashi-sensei come back yet?"

As she said that, the electric board lit up once again…

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Tsurugi Misumi Vs. Kankuro

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Kankuro and his opponent moved away from the balcony and towards the arena. While most of them were preoccupied by the next battle, Naruto looked around looking for the Hell butterfly that would confirm if the sealing process was completed or that the dimensional rift caused by Sasuke's transformation was closed up. Sakura noticed his distracted state and asked, "What's wrong?"

Naruto then said, "I'm looking for that butterfly that followed me here."

She shrugged and replied, "At a time like this you're looking for an insect?"

The two weren't paying much attention until they heard Haku say, "Let the third match begin!"

Misumi charged and gave a right back fist to Kankuro who blocked it with his left hand. The match was progressing however, Naruto decided it wasn't so important. He then took out his black book from his jacket and leaned on the wall and began reading it. Hinata noticed his apparently bored look.

'_That's right…he already knows.' _The Hyuuga heiress thought. _'But who will win?'_

Sakura noticed at the corner of her eye, the lazy young blonde. She then asked him, "Aren't you going to watch?"

Naruto answered, "The battle is already decided. Kankuro will win."

Shikamaru then asked him, "How do you know?"

The young blonde flipped a page on his book and said, "You'll see."

They paid attention to the match and locked their eyes on every movement the two combatants made. Misumi used his unique, elastic body to strangle the poor sand nin to death. the crowd held it's breath at what they saw until Kankuro's face began to crack revealing him to be no more than a fake. The real Kankuro emerged from the supposed bandaged doll. The fake Kankuro, now known as Karasu, shed its skin and wrapped it's six arms around Musumi and crushed his body in a bear hug. The undercover sound nin fell to the floor, unconscious but also in critical condition from internal bleeding. Haku then said, "This was unexpected. But the match is decided. Kankuro wins."

Naruto then closed his book and said, "Looks like I'm right."

Sakura then said, "He won using the **Kugutsu no Jutsu.** He controlled the doll with his chakra."

Shikamaru eyed the young blonde and thought, _'He knew. To what extent I don't know but somehow, he knew. Who are you? Single handedly taking down four chuunins and two ronins and an overbuilt okama…knowing about a sealing jutsu that only archaeologists would know…calm and cool at one time while wild and erratic the next…far too unpredictable. This really is troublesome.'_

Ino then said, "Hmmm…looks like all the strong guys are here."

Chouji then replied, "Not all the strong guys are here you know."

Sakura then looked around and said, "Kakashi-sensei hasn't come yet. I hope Sasuke-kun is alright."

The other jounin senseis noticed it as well and Gai said to Asuma, "It seems my rival hasn't arrived yet. I wonder what could have happened to him."

Kurenai then crossed her arms and huffed, "He's probably off reading his book again right after he dropped Sasuke at the hospital."

Hinata, Kiba and Sakura were silently giggling knowing it was probably true. Unfortunately, it wasn't the right time to be laughing.

Naruto tapped the back of Sakura and said, "Now's not the right time for laughing. Look." He pointed to the electric bulletin board. Sakura looked and her eyes widened when she saw the board say…

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Haruno Sakura Vs. Yamanaka Ino

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Ino gave Sakura a cold stare before walking towards the arena. Sakura hated it when Ino did that and begun walking as well until Hinata said, "Sa-Sakura-san…" Sakura faced her and saw Hinata smile. The Hyuuga Heiress then said, "Gambate. We'll cheer you on."

Sakura was surprised and muttered, "Hinata…"

Naruto then walked towards the pink haired girl until he was beside Hinata. He then said with a foxy grin, "That's right. Were here all the way. Show her that your demon is more powerful than hers, cherry demon."

Sakura had a vein throbbing on her forehead and gave a glare that said, 'your dead meat.' Naruto then said, "That's the Sakura we know."

Sakura decided to leave her frustrations there for now and turned on her heel to enter the arena. However, in her mind, she swore that she saw Naruto holding hands with Hinata. But it didn't matter now the moment she stood opposite of her rival.

Haku then smiled at Sakura and said, "It's been a long time Sakura-san. You must be really strong now."

Sakura replied with a confident face, "That's right. I've faced hell long enough to show her who's the better kunoichi."

Ino then smirked and said, "I'd be saying the same thing if Haku-kun wasn't here to watch." She then faced Haku and tried to look as cute as possible while saying in an innocent tone, "Haku-kun, don't mind her. If it's okay, can we talk later?"

Haku sheepishly replied with a smile, "Um…I think it's best to start the match now." _'That girl scares me for some reason. I just hope that she isn't like Anko-san.'_

That was the unofficial start of the match. Sakura charged and attacked Ino with all her might in hand-to-hand combat. Ino withstood her barrage of blows and handed down her own.

Naruto then said to Hinata who was still beside him, "Take a good look at their moves. They aren't even fighting."

Hinata gazed harder and said, "They don't want to fight with each other."

Shikamaru then said, "These two are just playing around. They're not getting stronger."

Neji then said, "The physical strength of a kunoichi is much lower than a man's. They need to focus their attacks on speed to really get anywhere."

Tenten then said, "That's not it." She then faced Neji with a hard glare and said, "Those two are just soft against each other. Sex doesn't matter in battle."

Hinata then followed the match with her eyes. What she didn't know, was everything was moving in slow motion to her. She could see the next set of moves like Shikamaru playing shogi. She then accidentally muttered her thoughts. "Sakura is going to give a right kick. Ino will respond with the same move. Then Ino will switch places with Sakura and give two quick punches before making a punch to her side and finally slapping her."

Shino heard her and said, "Is that so?"

Naruto also heard her while Shikamaru was able to read her lips the same way as Kurenai. And just as she predicted, it happened. They were first surprised that it did happen. Then Naruto faced Hinata and saw the silhouette of a black dragon wrapping around her legs and slowly slithering up her body before disappearing. Of course, Gaara, on the other side of the room, saw it as well.

The sand jinchuriki then said, "Interesting."

But he wasn't the only one who noticed. Kurenai also saw it and thought, _'When she was watching the battle, her eyes suddenly changed. They became slit like an animal's.' _She then shook her head and thought, _'That's not possible. The __**Byakugan**__ has the ability to see the chakra coils and through any genjutsu but it doesn't have that sort of ability. That's something only the __**Sharingan **__is capable of.'_

Naruto then faced the arena again and thought, _'Kuro Enkouryuu…the sleeping dragon is awakening. But what kind of dragon? I've seen two so far and one is a dragon of power while the other a dragon of ice.'_

The battle raged on and things pretty much went the same way as before—a double knockout. Haku inspected the two and then announced, "Both are unable to fight so I declare this a double KO."

Asuma then went down and picked up Ino while Naruto went down and picked up Sakura. This of course made Hinata extremely jealous though she didn't show it, Shino and Kiba could feel the fire ignite in her.

What made things even worse was that Asuma cracked a joke at Naruto when the smoker said, "Picking up damsels in distress eh Naruto? You're probably one happy boy today to pick up a strong willed princess."

Hinata gripped the railing with one hand while she gripped her jacket with the other. Unknowingly, she was accidentally heating up the railing in her clutches. Kiba happened to be leaning on that railing and suddenly jumped back and yelped, "Damn it's hot!"

Naruto and Asuma placed the two unconscious kunoichis by the wall, side by side. The others gathered around the unconscious kunoichis while Naruto went back to his spot on the railing and noticed Hinata smiling at him. He then realized it was a forced smile.

He sheepishly scratched his head and soundlessly said, "Gomenasai Hina-hime."

Good thing no one was watching the two since they were too busy looking after the two female fighters until the electric board began moving again till it stopped at two names…

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

Tenten Vs. Temari

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -II

As the second batch of female fighters stepped up to the plate, Ino woke up and Sakura followed suit. Ino then said to her still sleepy companion, "Are you finally awake now Sakura? Our match is over."

Sakura looked in awe as she noticed the back of the Konoha nins in front of her. It was plain and simple logic that told her…"I lost."

Ino then said to her with a sad smile, "I'm the one who wants to cry. I tied to someone like you." She then handed the hitai-ate back to Sakura who accepted it wholeheartedly indicating the stop of their bitter rivalry. However, she then said, "I have no intention of giving Sasuke-kun to you."

Sakura crossed her arms and said, "Sasuke-kun is mine already. We've gotten so far that your relationship with him is a dream."

Ino then angrily said with saucers for eyes, "I think your head's still aching from that punch. Reality is I'm taking Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto heard them rambling and leaned on the wall next to them and begun reading his book again. He then said to them without looking, "You know, the cherry demon is right about being far with him. I can't count how many intimate sessions she had with him."

Ino froze like a rock as Haku announced, "Hajime!" the blonde haired girl turned to Sakura who just stuck out her tongue and pulled down the skin of her left eye.

Ino then screamed, "That's not fair! How could you?!"

Sakura then said, "The winner is the one who shows affections both in private and public! It's not love if it isn't something you can freely announce!"

Naruto felt hurt at what she said and thought, _'I hate this. Here they are, able to express their feelings freely while Hinata-chan and I have to hide it all the time. But what she says is true. How can I call it love if we can't be honest? For all I know, she might…'_ the young blonde shook his head as he tucked in his black book and thought, _'No…I shouldn't think like that, I'm braver than this. I'm Namikaze Naruto for crying out loud!'_

Naruto then went back to the railings and watched the match. Ino then looked at Naruto and saw the insignia on the back of his jacket. She then said to her best friend, "Hey Sakura, Naruto doesn't seem to have feelings for you anymore."

Sakura crossed her arms and said, "So what? He keeps calling me cherry demon because it's the second meaning of my name. If that isn't an answer to your question, then I don't know what is."

Ino then observed the young blonde closely and noticed Hinata was much closer to Naruto than usual. She then said, "Hinata has been acting strange lately."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

Ino then said, "Take a look. She's become more comfortable around him but she still acts normal when we're around. But when no one's looking, she's really different."

Sakura noticed it as well and said with wide-eyes, "She's hiding her true self?"

Ino then said, "Well, we don't know her and Tenten too well so it's no surprise."

Sakura then said, "It makes a lot of sense now. It's almost the same with Naruto."

Ino then said, "The so-called idiot isn't so idiotic right?"

Sakura replied, "I'm not sure. At times, he's reliable. But other times, he's still the same. He's probably just begun to grow up."

Ino then said, "That's true. But what about his taste in clothes? Isn't that different as well?"

Sakura then said, "He did say he didn't want to become a walking target so he changed them. Where are you getting at?"

Ino then said, "Ever since you guys came back, Shikamaru has been getting off his butt snooping around for anything concerning Naruto. Asuma-sensei keeps telling him to stop but he doesn't seem to listen and it's not helping us. In fact, he got even more interested after that Kabuto guy showed his profile. Chouji begged me to help out too since it's the only way to make him stop."

Sakura then said, "Sasuke-kun and I tried to do the same. We couldn't even find his house since he barely tells us anything. We even tried to follow him at night but Sasuke always looked pale after getting to a certain corner. He began muttering about 'okamas' and 'hairy bears that eat strange food'.

Ino's eyebrow rose as Tenten's match ended with Temari the victor. As before, tension was high with Lee since he outright, challenged Gaara. Good thing Gai was there to stop him before further damage could be done.

Kiba and Hinata shrugged at the thought of fighting the guys from Sand. Naruto saw the way the two were reacting and the way Gaara reacted. He eyed Gaara with caution and kept cool until Sakura said to him, "Don't lose to anyone, Naruto."

Naruto turned around to face her and said, "Don't worry. I don't plan to. I still have to face Sasuke." He then returned to facing the electric board that kept showing random names. Ino then remembered something important and pulled out something from her pocket. It was a three-pronged kunai with a seal written on the hilt. She then showed it to Sakura and said, "Shikamaru found it in some old tree before we got here. I kept it for him since he didn't have enough space in his holster for it."

It then snapped in Sakura's mind. She then said, "Naruto has one of those!"

Ino then said, "He does? When does he use it?"

Sakura replied, "He just used it during the first day when we fought a guy named Orochimaru. He threw the kunai at him and then used a new jutsu on him. I can't remember the name of the jutsu but he shot lightning from his fingers and it homed onto the kunai. I think he bribed Kakashi-sensei to teach him that jutsu."

Ino then said, "Is that all?"

Sakura shook her head and said, "Who knows?"

Of course, they were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't notice what was going on until Naruto said, "So Shikamaru is fighting a genjutsu user. This will good."

The two kunoichis stood up and looked over the railing to see Shikamaru fighting Kin.

Ino then shouted, "Shikamaru! Don't lose to her! You still owe me!"

Shikamaru just shook his head and said, "Mendokuse. I'd rather be watching the clouds right about now."

Kin then said, "Che. You're girlfriend is calling your lazy ass. How nice."

The lazy genius replied, "She isn't my girlfriend. I'd die before that happens."

The battle was straightforward and simple. Shikamaru won through his ingenuity with his jutsu. Haku confirmed Kin was unconscious and announced, "This match is over. Shikamaru wins this round."

Naruto then tucked in his black book and said, "I think this will be it."

Hinata then asked him, "What do you mean Naruto-kun?"

Naruto shook it off and said, "It's nothing. I'll be fine." And just as he said that, Kiba then said, "Now we have one Sound ninja, me, Hinata, Naruto, Chouji, Neji and Lee and that Sand guy."

Neji then said, "It looks like I can have nice battles with the rookies this year." He then eyed Hinata menacingly. The Hyuuga heiress noticed his cold stare and looked away. Naruto noticed her fear and thought, _'Hold on Hinata-chan. I'll save you.'_

And as the names were scrolling, it happened. The unexpected happened. The names that lit up were…

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - II

Namikaze Naruto Vs. Inuzuka Kiba

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - II

They were surprised by what was written on the board. Sakura then said, "Namikaze? Did they get it wrong?"

Asuna and Kurenai, as well as Gai saw the name. They were perplexed but old man Sarutobi just smiled.

Lee then said, "I thought Naruto's last name was Uzumaki. Did he change it?"

Tenten then said, "There's no way for that. Once your name's been written in the record it stays until special circumstances say otherwise."

Chouji looked around and said, "Where's Naruto?"

They looked around and found that he was not around. Shino however was able to locate the young blonde and said, "He's fast."

Haku noticed it as well and turned around to see Naruto was behind him. The young blonde then said, "Sorry for the trouble guys but that's my new last name."

Hinata then said, "Ga-gambate Naruto-kun!"

Sakura joined in and said, "Gambate Naruto!"

Kiba leaped down onto the arena and said with a confident smile, "All right Akamaru! We got lucky. We can definitely beat him."

Haku then chuckled as he thought, _'Don't judge a book by its cover Kiba-kun. You might be surprised what tricks it has up it's sleeves.' _Haku then announced, "This is the seventh match. Namikaze Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba."

Shikamaru thought, _'Let's see the power that took down those chuunins in that B-rank Mission.'_

Sarutobi thought, _'I hope you know what you're doing Naruto.'_

And just in time, Kakashi and Sasuke arrived. Sakura saw them and said, "Sasuke-kun, are you alright?"

Sasuke nodded and saw the match that was about to go underway. He was happy that he made it. He then thought, _'There's no point in hiding anymore. We'll see what you're made of Naruto.'_

Kakashi then said, "Looks like I made it just in time."

Gai then faced Kakashi and said, "My eternal rival! You have missed the most youthful display of manliness. Were have you been all this time?"

Kakashi paid him no heed (Much to Gai's dismay) and just decided to watch the match that was to show Naruto's skills.

Naruto stood opposite of Kiba, a few meters away. He kept cool and calm though his heart was burning with passion. With his hands in his pocket, he then said, "Kiba…I'm ready to fight. But against you, I'm sure to win."

Kiba then said, "In your dreams. Stop trying to act tough. I've trained ever since we got back. I won't lose to you. _I'm_ sure to win."

Naruto then said, "Have it your way. I'll still get some exercise walking the dogs." _'Good. Just a little more agitation and I can win without having to reveal a lot of tricks.'_

Kiba then chuckled and said, "Wise guy eh?" he the put down Akamaru and said, "Akamaru, don't do anything. I'll do this alone. I'll beat you it one hit out of pity."

Haku then said, "Hajime!"

Naruto then slyly retorted, "I'll do the same." He then ran towards Kiba and jumped at him Kiba smirked at his luck while Sakura planted her hand on her face.

Kiba then thought, _'Too easy. He's still an idiot after all.'_

Kiba was about to leap out of the way until Naruto shouted, "**Henge!**" the young blonde used his **Sexy no Jutsu** and transformed into an older, naked, female version of himself, with open arms, he said in a cute yet sultry voice, "Kiba-sama! I want you!"

Kiba was unprepared for this as were the other shinobi in that room. He just stood there agape with blood dripping from his nose as Naruto landed on top of him and caressing him with his 'assets'.

Sasuke and Sakura both shouted, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Sarutobi sweatdropped and thought, _'He's still slightly the same.'_

Hinata sighed and shook her head while Shikamaru face-faulted. Kurenai looked at Kakashi in disgust while Asuma noticed something odd. The smoker then smirked and said, "Now that's ingenious. Underhanded, but ingenious."

Ino then said with a frown, "Asuma-sensei…Naruto's just an idiot who used an idiotic jutsu. I don't believe his profile was real anymore."

Asuma then said, "Just watch. You'll see what I mean."

Kiba managed to push Naruto off who just used another **henge** so that his disguise was clothed in a skimpy yet slightly revealing blue kimono. Naruto pouted and said in a girl's voice, "What's wrong Kiba-sama? Don't you want me? Am I not sexy enough?"

Kiba then angrily replied with saucers for eyes, "Who would knowing you're a guy?! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Kiba stood up and took another step forward and suddenly his senses dulled and he couldn't move. Naruto stood up and his face changed into that of a cold, devious manipulator. He snickered and said with a voice to match. "Never underestimate a kitsune, Kiba. You can feel it, can't you?"

"What did you do to me?" Kiba asked as the crowd was shocked by what suddenly took place.

Naruto pulled out a small needle from the kimono sleeve in his left and showed it to the dog boy. Haku immediately recognized it and said, "An acupuncture needle."

Kiba got it quickly by the look of his dumbfounded expression. Naruto then said, "That's right. Before I attacked you, I had a sebon in my pocket. I always keep one handy to make sure I have a weapon I can reach for anytime. Then, I used this body to distract you long enough to attack the nerve that has something to do with your movement. It wasn't that hard considering you were paralyzed by the feel of a woman's body."

Kiba then said, "I'm not the only one fighting and you're going to regret this." Akamaru then bit Kiba's legs allowing Kiba to get out of his paralyzed state as his senses returned.

The dog boy then said, "Let's go Akamaru."

Naruto dropped the **henge** and took his fighting stance. Asuma then told Ino, "There you go. The only reason Kiba is still fighting is because he has Akamaru with him. Otherwise, he's already lost."

Shikamaru then thought, _'Shameless but gets the job done. This is getting interesting.'_

Hinata felt troubled since Naruto was fighting Kiba. But she knew who to root for as she silently prayed for Kami-sama to allow Naruto victory.

Kiba and Akamaru charged. The dog boy then pulled out two smoke bombs and threw them while he said, "Take this!"

Naruto stood still and made a one-handed handseal, surprising the audience, as the bombs exploded and emitted thick, purple smoke all around him. He made two **Kage Bunshins** and both used **henge** to transform into two large shurikens. The young blonde took the two in his hands and wrapped wire around them. He then picked them up as Kiba dove into the smoke to attack the young blonde. Naruto evaded every punch sent to him. Though the young blonde couldn't see things very well in the smoke, he could feel Kiba's chakra and reiatsu signature like an iron rod in a furnace. He then leaped out of the smoke only for Akamaru to push him back in.

Kiba then leaped outside the smoke, smirked and said, "He fell for it."

When the smoke cleared, Akamaru was sitting down wagging his tail next to an unconscious Naruto with two large shurikens stuck to the ground beside him.

Kiba then shouted, "All right, you got him."

As Akamaru ran to Kiba, Sasuke noticed something was odd. He then thought, _'Naruto wouldn't lose that easily. He's got something planned.'_

Kiba then opened his arms and crouched to receive the dog in an embrace. He then said, "Good job Aka—"

Before he could continue, Akamaru bit Kiba's left arm. Needless to say, everyone else except Gaara, Hinata, and the jounins were surprised.

Akamaru suddenly spoke, "You fell for it." The dog dropped the **henge** revealing it to be Naruto. Naruto let go his jaws from Kiba's left arm. He then grabbed Kiba's left hand by the wrist with his left arm and tucked it in his right armpit. In the same motion, he slinked his right hand under the grabbed arm and grabbed Kiba's collar while his left hand held his right arm and was in between it and Kiba's left elbow. The young blonde moved slightly closer and then sidestepped to the left causing Kiba to lean forward to keep his arm intact from the arm and shoulder lock.

Kiba then asked, "Where's Akamaru?"

Naruto then said, "Look to your right." Kiba looked and saw a clone of the young blonde holding up Akamaru. The original blonde then removed the hold and kicked Kiba towards the center. The fainted clone of Naruto suddenly got up and threw the large shurikens at Kiba. Kiba quickly jumped up to evade the spinning blades that the original blonde behind him caught and stuck it to the ground while his clone opposite of him stuck a kunai in the ground.

Sasuke then said, "Kiba's dead with that move."

Sakura then shouted, "Kiba! Get out of there!"

"What?" Kiba asked as Naruto blurred through several handseals and said, "**Katon Enjou Sankaku no Jutsu!**"

Akamaru managed to get out of the grips of one of the clones and with all his might, shoves both himself and Kiba out of the attack range as the two large shurikens and kunai began to glow and an orange triangle of fire burst upwards and downwards. It created a hole in the roof while the ground below it melted in the triangle prism of flames.

Kiba and the rest were wide-eyed by the attack Naruto just used as smoke and sizzling sound of cooked dirt emerged from the ground while Naruto and his two remaining clones stood stalwart and calm. Everyone was shocked by the move Naruto just used.

Ino then gasped, "No, way! That was Naruto?!"

Shikamaru then said, "Mendokuse. No wonder he defeated those four chuunins."

Kurenai then faced Kakashi and said, "Kakashi! You taught him such a reckless move!"

Sasuke and Sakura faced the silver haired jounin as well with a look that said 'explain'.

Kakashi replied, "That's a move from the forbidden scroll. Only the Hokage has access to it."

Sasuke then shouted, "Then how did he learn those deadly jutsus?!"

Kakashi scratched his head and replied, "I guess I forgot to tell you. Naruto didn't pass the way you guys did. He passed because he retrieved the forbidden scroll back from the traitor Mizuki. Iruka found him in the forest with the scroll after he defeated Mizuki and Naruto then said to Iruka that he only mastered one jutsu from it and asked if he showed the move he could pass."

Sasuke thought for a moment and said, "He only said master not learn."

Sakura thought about it for a while and her eyes widened as she shouted, "HEEEEEEEHHH?! He learned everything from the forbidden scroll?!"

Kakashi then said, "Technically, yes."

Kiba then thanked Akamaru and his eyes became wide as saucers as he angrily shouted to the young blonde, "Chikusho, teme! You nearly burned me alive!"

Naruto sheepishly grinned and said, "Go-gomenasai! I forgot to hold back! But it was a good thing that I didn't roast you or we would be eating cooked dog for lunch."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mizore sneezed while she was cooking up a peculiar barbeque in the kitchen of her apartment and a pile of sheared fur was in a small basket. Kwago then called out to her from the small dining room, "Luto no ba? Gutom na gutom na ako." (Is it cooked already? I'm really hungry here.)

Mizore then answered, "It's almost done." _'I hate cooking his favorite meal even if it is a stray and we're out of food right now.'_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hinata was amazed and said, "Naruto-kun, that was amazing. Please don't hurt Kiba-kun too much."

Naruto heard that and thought, _'Okay. Hold back. From here on out, I have to make it look like that was my strongest attack and I barely got any chakra left.'_

Kiba then said, "Too bad that was your strongest attack. There's no way you can beat me now. Now I won't hold back and I will defeat you!"

Naruto then replied, "Really? But you can never defeat me!"

Shikamaru then said, "He definitely isn't the Naruto we once knew."

Ino then said, "Oh yeah…Shikamaru, that kunai you found, Naruto has one of those." Shikamaru listened as Ino continued. "He uses it for a lightning jutsu."

Shikamaru kept it in mind as the whole audience kept their eyes peeled on the exciting match.

Kiba took a deep breath and gave Akamaru a food pill causing Akamaru's fur to turn wild and red. He too took a food pill and then crouched down and placed his hands in the tiger handseal and Akamaru leaped on top of his back.

Naruto's clones charged but were too late as Kiba said, "**Gijyuu Ninpou, Jiyuujin Bunshin!**"

Akamaru transformed into a clone of Kiba and leaped and tore through one clone. Naruto threw an exploding tag at his clone who caught it and charged at Kiba.

The feral boy then shouted, "**Shikakuno Jutsu!**" Akamaru intercepted the clone and ripped him with one swipe allowing the kunai to fly to the other side and explode harmlessly. Kiba and the transformed Akamaru ran at Naruto with feral speed. Both tried to attack Naruto who leaped out of the way and evaded their constant berserker strikes.

Kiba tried to get a better angle of attack by running along the wall and then leaping of it to attack Naruto from behind. The young blonde leaped up and stepped on Kiba's head in midair to use it as a stepping stone and threw three shurikens at him. He then pulled a kunai out his left holster with his left hand and did several one-handed handseals with his right before saying, "**Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!**" the shurikens multiplied to thirty and rained down on Kiba and Akamaru who evaded most of the shurikens and swatted the rest away. Naruto knew he couldn't get far like this and when he landed on the railing of the balcony where the sand siblings stood, with kunai still in his left hand, he kicked off it towards Kiba, who just landed below. He did a one-handed handseal and a **Kage Bunshin** appeared to his right and latched on to his right hand. Akamaru then leaped off Kiba to attack Naruto in mid-air. The young blonde threw his clone at Akamaru and continued his descent to Kiba. Kiba leaped up to meet Naruto. When they were within arms length, Naruto attempted to stab Kiba with his left hand. The dog boy swatted the blade away and lunged his other hand and gave Naruto a deep slash on his face. The force was strong enough that Naruto was swatted to the side. The young blonde regained his balance in mid-air and landed safely as Kiba landed back on the ground with Akamaru beside him leaving Naruto alone to face them since his clone was defeated.

Asuma then said, "Naruto is at a disadvantage. Kiba has chakra surrounding his body, and he is a total combat-type fighter that brawls like a beast. That food pill that doubles his chakra is perfect for him."

Hinata heard Asuma and wanted to protest but she knew better. All she could do was watch and it made her feel helpless. Kurenai then said to her, "So who are you supporting Hinata?"

Hinata looked at her and then looked away in embarrassment. Kurenai then said, "It doesn't matter who wins at this point right?"

Hinata nodded. Kurenai then said, "But if you had the choice who to make a sacrifice for, which one of them would you offer your sacrifice?"

Hinata thought hard for a moment and said, "I can't do that Kurenai-sensei. I want to go for Naruto-kun. But Kiba-kun is also my friend and teammate. I can't leave him or Shino behind because of my selfishness. They are my team."

Kurenai then said, "But there will come a time when you need to sacrifice one or the other for someone or something you hold dear to you. When that time comes, you will need to make a decision."

Hinata then sheepishly replied, "But I don't want to be selfish for making that decision. I'd rather find a way to help both."

Kurenai then said, "Take a look at the two of them. They're fighting for a reason and protecting that reason with their lives. It may look selfish, but it's the complete opposite. I know you came here for more than just being able to see Naruto. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here at all."

Hinata watched the two staring each other down and catching their breaths. Naruto _appeared_ winded but his eyes showed he was relaxed and well. The Hyuuga heiress then thought, _'I remember now. He said that he would protect me and be with me even in the afterlife. And I made the decision to stay with him and support him. He's here because he wants to be. And I'm here because I too have something I want. He sacrificed his life in Soul Society to come back here for me. He could have had a better life but he chose to stay with me even if it kills him. He loved me…because I loved him first and he just wants to do everything he can so that we can live together in peace and harmony.'_

She then mustered her strength and shouted, "Naruto-kun! Don't give up! I believe in you!"

They looked at Hinata for a moment before Lee shouted, "Naruto-kun! You can do it! Let the flames of your youth bring you strength in battle!"

Sakura then chimed in, "Show him what you did to Orochimaru!"

The Sand nins and Dosu were surprised by what they heard as did Anko, Ibiki and the jounins. The rest either knew that what she meant or were bewildered. Naruto on the other hand, just said with a confident smile, "I guess I can't run anymore. I'll have to beat you no matter what."

Kiba then said, "Bakero! You barely got anything on me! You're moves surprised me, but what's the use if it can't even scratch me?" he then charged straight for Naruto. The young blonde ran to the side, evading head on collision with Kiba, only to get intercepted by Akamaru. Naruto used the wind to slightly move himself to the side much faster, evading Akamaru's tackle only for Kiba to head back. The dog boy then jumped and shouted before spinning his body wildly, "**Gatsuuga!**" Naruto wasn't able to move quickly enough as Kiba drilled through him and skidded to the side afterwards.

Naruto was sent flying by the attack and then started descending. Kiba then smirked until the young blonde's body crumbled into rocks that harmlessly fell to the ground.

"What?!" Kiba shouted.

Sasuke then smiled and said, "He's finally getting serious."

Lee then asked his master, "Gai-sensei, what was that move?"

Gai then responded, "**Doton, Kawarimi no Jutsu.** It is a stone replacement jutsu. The Iwa nins used it quite often to injure their opponents who used hand to hand combat moves with the hardness of the rocks."

Kiba and Akamaru looked around and then Kiba got irritated and said, "Where are you?"

Naruto then appeared on top of the stone hands at the fingertips with a clone just below him. Kiba then noticed him and said, "Still feel like running or do you quit?"

Naruto didn't reply and dropped down to the level of his clone. He then formed several handseals and said, "This is one of my trump cards. I created this jutsu for reasons like this. **Ninpou, Nijuu Mi no Jutsu!**"

The original Naruto transformed into black and red chakra that engulfed the clone before receding to reveal a battle-ready, orange-haired man in a black hakama and kimono with a cleaver sword the size of his height, wrapped in cloth, tied to his back. Kiba then said, "A flashy way of making a **henge.** Let's see what you can do."

Kiba then ran to him and shouted, "**Getsuuga!**" he then spun his body wildly to form the drilling attack headed for the orange haired man. But to everyone's surprise, the attack went right through him."

"It went through him!" Shikamaru said in utter shock.

Kiba stopped and said, "That won't stop me! Akamaru, Now!" both the dog-boy and his dog did the same attack, only to pass through the orange-haired man.

Kiba then asked, "Why? That's impossible! Unless…" He then smiled and said, "I get it now. You're just a **Bunshin.** Adding a **henge** to a **bunshin**. What a useless move."

The clone then took out his cleaver sword and ran to Kiba aiming to slice him in half with a horizontal slash. Kiba then stood his ground and heard Akamaru growling at him to move. Kiba then confidently said, "Don't worry Akamaru there's no way that a **bunshin** can ha—"

Before he could continue, Akamaru grabbed him at the last second, preventing the clone of Ichigo from making a deep cut with his attack. Instead, it just cut through his clothes and made a grazing scratch on his skin.

Sakura then said, "It cut him! But, How? How can a regular **Bunshin **do that?"

Kiba then thought, _'No way! I thought it was a regular __**Bunshin**__! How did it cut me? Come to think of it, where's Naruto?"_

The Ichigo clone didn't give Kiba and Akamaru time to fight back and swung right and left at them. Kiba ducked and evaded the attacks narrowly, getting scratches on his body. Akamaru found an opening when the clone was preoccupied with Kiba and lunged. His attack failed and he just passed right through the man. Kiba tried to jump out of the way only to realize that wherever he went, so did the Ichigo clone and it was always in front of him.

Kakashi said, "Wow. No wonder he calls it a trump card. Kiba can neither attack nor defend or even run away."

Sasuke then asked, "What kind of a jutsu did he create?"

Asuma then asked Kakashi, "Kakashi, what did you do to that boy? That jutsu is like the jutsu of the Red Shadow."

Sakura then said in confusion, "Red Shadow?"

Kurenai then explained for them. "Red Shadow—it was the nickname given to a kunoichi of the former whirlpool country that was wiped out during the last Shinobi War. Her jutsu was a genjutsu that personifies the worst nightmare of the user for the opponent to fight. Her jutsu is genjutsu by nature."

Hinata then activated her **Byakugan** and noticed a coat of chakra emanating from the clone and it was attaching itself on whoever came close. In fact, chakra threads attached themselves from the coat to Kiba and Akamaru. She then said, "It is a genjutsu."

Ino then said, "No way! Naruto knows how to do a genjutsu?"

Gai then chimed in, "Not just any genjutsu. I have heard of the Red Shadow myself. Her jutsu was simply a genjutsu and can be overcome the same way any genjutsu can but they couldn't do any physical damage the way this one is doing."

Tenten looked and noticed that the wounds were real. "Gai-sensei is right!"

Kakashi then said, "Naruto figured out the jutsu and improved it by using a clone as a base making it a pseudo-**bunshin.** An intelligent genjutsu that can move and think semi-independently without getting destroyed until it's too late…Matakun…Naruto's been working on these things without my knowledge."

Kiba's sharp ears heard what they were saying. He then stood still as the Ichigo clone came charging at him with sword at the ready. Kiba then placed his hands together and said, "**Kai!**"

The Ichigo clone stopped a centimeter before he could cleave Kiba in half. Naruto's real position was revealed because of this. He was no longer invisible and was hanging from the ceiling.

Kiba noticed him and said, "I also know about genjutsu Naruto. You're out of tricks."

Naruto replied, "Saying **Kai** just made my day."

The Ichigo clone suddenly transformed into Byakuya. Kiba was surprised and said, "No way! I thought that…"

The Byakuya clone then spoke, "Ignorant fool. Saying **Kai** only defeats the first genjutsu and activates its true form. The jutsu is a twofold one. Your defeat was destined from the start." He then raised his sword paralle to his body and said, "**Scatter, Senbonzakura.**" The blade of his sword transformed into cherry blossom sized blades that swirled around him, Kiba and Akamaru. Akamaru then grabbed Kiba and threw him with all his might to Naruto. Because of that, Akamaru was the one that was hit by the blades instead, causing him to revert to his original form with a battered body. Kiba then used **Gatsuuga** in mid-air to give him the extra boost in height, allowing him to reach Naruto and give him a swift strike to the face causing the two to fall back down to the ground. Kiba landed on his feet while Naruto, on his back.

Hinata looked away as the genjutsu faded. Kiba noticed the genjutsu fade and said to the fallen Naruto, "You see that Naruto? I'll prove to them that I'm much stronger than an idiot like you!"

Naruto then got up and said, "This fox is still one step of the hounds Kiba, especially really smelly ones like you and Akamaru. You guys need to bathe and take a breath mint after I win this match and then become Hokage, underdog." _'I can't do this without revealing more of my capabilities. I have no choice…focus my reiatsu at 0.2 percent.'_

Hinata then saw the determined eyes of Naruto and saw the flame in it. _'I believe you, Naruto-kun. You can do this.'_

Kurenai then muttered, "Don't get agitated. Calm down."

That was the last straw though. Kiba finally got agitated and shouted, "You're still persistent that you're going to win? Face facts Naruto…YOU SUCK YOU IDIOT!"

Naruto then shouted back, "Urasei! **Dissintegrate, Roddanni's black dog!**"

Kiba then shouted back, "Is that all you can do? Stop insulting and start fighting you coward!"

Naruto paid no heed to his sudden remark and continued. "**Read, Burn, and Devour your own Throat!**"

Sakura then said, "Great. An insult fit for Kiba and it sounds like a bad Haiku."

Naruto then smiled and raised his right hand and pointed his middle and pointer finger at Kiba and said, "You lost Kiba…because you can't discern an incantation from an insult."

Kakashi then thought, _'He's still unpredictable as ever.'_

Haku then thought, _'Will this match be finally over?'_

Kiba was confused by what Naruto said. His mind had become entangled making him unable to act accordingly. Naruto then said, "**Bakudo number nine, Geki!**"

A flash of red light shot from Naruto's fingers and egulfed Kiba. Kiba screamed for a moment before finally falling down, unconscious.

Hinata's face lightened up with joy as Haku announced, "This match is over. Naruto wins."

They cheered for Naruto while others clapped and some did nothing. Naruto then walked up the stairs with his hands behind his back. Hinata waited nervously holding a small bottle of healing ointment. When he got up the stairs she walked up to him and gave him the cream with embarrassment plastered on her face. Naruto then asked, "What's this for?" _'How can I forget this? She's too sweet.'_

Hinata blushed and said, "It's an ointment."

Naruto's gaze softened and he smiled at her. She blushed even further as he gently grabbed both her hands and said, "Arigato, Hinata-chan." He then took the ointment and smiled even more. She smiled in return, completely in bliss that she could see his smile and feel loved by him while a blush adorned her face.

Kurenai was finally able to confirm it when she saw what interacted between the two. _'You may be able to hide yourself completely from us in battle, but when it comes to the heart, your quite open Naruto.'_

The young blonde walked back towards his team as the medic nins brought an unconscious Kiba and Akamaru to the back room on a stretcher. Sakura then shouted, "All right Naruto! That was awesome."

Sasuke then said, "Looks like my opponents are very strong. I can't wait to fight you in the final exam." _'Those jutsus were completely different from the ones he showed us so far. If I used my __**Sharingan**__ I could have copied them. But Kakashi-sensei would have noticed it and stop__ped__ me. I need to get stronger…much stronger!'_

Kakashi then said, "Hmm…a fire jutsu from the scroll, a lost jutsu from another country, a jutsu from an opposing village, and a jutsu with an incantation and rank number meaning there was more than one of that type."

Naruto sweatdropped knowing the disaster his moves implemented. Kakashi then continued. "**Bakudo number nine, Geki…**I'll remember that one. The last ones who said words like that and used a jutsu like that were the medic nins that helped me treat Sasuke."

Naruto inwardly froze at that point though he didn't show it. Sasuke then said, "Hmph. You keep holding out on us. Were did you learn that jutsu?"

Naruto replied, "Uh…from a perverted sage who writes your favorite book and a woman who transforms into a cat?"

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Jiraya sneezed while he was peeking in the bathouse. Of course, his sneezing revealed his location and he got the beating of his life.

Yoruichi sneezed as she bandaged up Renji. Her sneeze accidentally went to his wounds making him turn pale at the thought of dying from a cold.

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Sasuke didn't buy it. He then said, "I still remember that other move you used against Orochimaru. If you can do it, then I can do it better. And I will find a way to defeat all your moves."

Kakashi then said, "But to do that, I think you need to learn how to use reiatsu since that's what the medic nins mentioned when I asked them about how they did those jutsus."

Naruto unknowingly, flinched when he heard what Kakashi said. The silver haired jounin noticed his sudden nervousness and knew he found his opening.

The young blonde then smiled and said, "Kakashi-sensei, do you know what reiatsu is?" Kakashi's eyebrow rose. Naruto then continued. "Neither do I. So whatever the hell they were talking about doesn't make sense. I used chakra to do my moves."

Kakashi knew that Naruto was using this method as a scapegoat. He nailed him here and wasn't planning to let go. But while their conversation was moving, the electric board did as well. It finally stopped and showed the names of the next two fighters…

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Hyuuga Hinata Vs. Hyuuga Neji

II- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - II

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the two names light up. Hinata saw it as well and feared for her life. She knew that she was strong, but against the merciless Neji, she couldn't hold her resolve.

Shino then faced her and said, "He won't stop. Kiba would say no as well."

Hinata lowered her head and sighed. She then shakily replied, "I know. But I have to try."

She and Neji then went down and stood opposite each other. Neji was cold as ice while Hinata was silent and still kept a lowered face.

Haku then asked her, "Are you alright Hinata-san? I think you should quit."

Silence was all he heard from her. Haku then said, "I guess I'll take that as a no."

Neji kept a sharp glare at her. He then said with ice in his words, "I didn't think that I would be fighting you…Hinata-sama." Hinata then leveled her head to see his hard face and reply, "Neji-nii-san."

Sakura was surprised and said, "That must be the cousin that Hinata mentioned."

Naruto faced the arena and gripped the railings as he said, "They're from the oldest clan in Konoha…The Hyuuga Clan. I heard he was an ass…but the way he looks at her, it's the look of someone whose heart was ripped off. Most likely it's because of the fact he's from the Branch Family of the Hyuuga Clan."

Lee then said, "That's right Naruto-kun. Neji told us that he had a cousin who was born into the head of the Hyuuga Clan."

Sakura turned to watch the two Hyuugas. "So it's a fight between relatives. It must be difficult for those two to fight."

Kakashi gazed at the focused Naruto and thought, _'It's even more difficult for the one who's watching.'_

Lee then said, "Yes, but I believe that a lot of things happened between the head family and the branch family in the past…and they are not on really good terms with each other."

Naruto then said, "The Hyuuga Clan is like the Uchiha Clan. So much rules but only one side gains from them."

Sakura was puzzled by what Naruto said. Lee then explained. "What Naruto says is true. I don't know the details, but they have special moves that run only in that clan. To pass those moves down, the Hyuuga family has a set of rules. But it seems that the rules are favorable to the head family. Because of those rules, a lot happened between the head family and the branch family."

Sakura then said, "This must be a fight to settle the quarrels then."

Naruto thought, _'No this will be a massacre.'_

Haku then said, "Please start the match."

Neji widened the gap between his feet and said, "Before we begin the match, let me warn you about one thing Hinata-sama." Hinata gazed into his hateful eyes as he continued. "Give up. You're not suited to be a ninja. You are too kind. You seek harmony and avoid trouble. And you just go along and follow someone else's idea and you have no self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you thought it would be fine if you remain a Genin. But you cannot register for the Chuunin Exam unless there are three people. You couldn't refuse the offers of Kiba and your teammate and the truth is you are taking this exam unwillingly…Am I wrong?"

Hinata looked away from him and said, "You're both right and wrong…"

"What?" asked Neji. Hinata then faced him though she was shaking. She then said, "It's true. I am too kind and want peace and harmony. But…I chose to come here on my own. Because I am inferior, I will work hard because I want to be a ninja. I want to change myself…I have a reason to be here even if it is dangerous."

Neji sharpened his gaze and said, "Hinata-sama…you are indeed a spoiled child from the head family. People cannot change. A failure is a failure."

Naruto gripped the railing as his anger for Neji's attitude grew. He tried to control it as Neji said, "His personality and power will not change. People cannot change so that's why terms like elites and failures exist."

Hinata struggled to stop from running away and crying her heart out. She thought, _'That's not true! That's not true…'_

Neji then said, "Everyone judges you by how good your face, head, abilites, body shape, and personality are. There are things that cannot be changed. People suffer due to their limits and live."

Hinata was beginning to lose her resolve. But before Neji could speak any more, Naruto suddenly shouted, "Don't let him get to you! Hinata, You can change. I know you can! Don't let that jerk tell you what to do! Why did you come here for? Show him how strong you are and crush him!"

Hinata suddenly snapped out of her uneasiness. She then stopped shaking and lowered her head and closed her eyes. _'Arigato…Naruto-kun. I nearly forgot. I came here because I wanted to. I wanted to become strong enough to walk with you wherever you go. I won't lose hope…I won't give in.'_

She then leveled her head and opened her eyes revealing her **Byakugan**. She then poised herself in the Hyuuga Clan fighting stance. "I won't run away anymore. Neji-nii-san…Let us fight."

Neji then faced Hinata and said, "So you're not going to give up? Don't blame me later on."

He then activated his **Byakugan **and took the same stance. Hinata didn't hesitate and rushed him. She gave him a right palm thrust only for him to duck and parry it with his right arm. She then gave thrust for thrust only for him to either evade the strike or parry it to the side. Neji also gave the same set of movement. Hinata dodged and parried his strikes with utmost efficiency. They were dead even. Or at least it seemed like it.

Naruto knew what was going to happen next and gripped the railings once more as he thought, _'Why did I say that? I can't let this continue! She's going to get hurt really bad!'_

Hinata managed to find an opening gave a palm strike to his stomach. Unfortunately, it missed him.

Sakura shouted, "Did it hit him?"

Naruto replied, "No, it wasn't deep enough."

Lee then said, "No, it hurts even if it just nicks you. That is why the Hyuuga Clan is called Konoha's noble family."

Sakura then asked, "What do you mean?"

Gai then explained. "Hyuuga has a special hand-to-hand combat style that is passed on from generation to generation."

Naruto then said, "That would be the Jyuken style that Hinata mentioned to us when we fought Zabuza for the first time."

Sakura then said, "So that was it. But if she's using the same style as him…"

Lee then said, "Yeah. It'll all come down to skill from here."

Sasuke crossed his arms and thought, _'So that's that. He's a worthy opponent,'_

Gai then said, "The Jyuken style is not flashy, but it will hurt later on. There's no way to train your internal organs. If you get hit it'll be fatal no matter how tough you are. All you can do is evade and hopefully hit your opponent when he's open. In this case, the faster your opponent is, the more likely you will get hit."

Hinata squared off with Neji in a stare down to catch their breaths. Naruto saw the way Neji kept calm and resolute though Hinata wasn't the same. The young blonde thought, _'I just can't watch. I need to do something before he gets serious.'_

His fiery tenant replied, **So you're going to deny her the right to fight?**

The young blonde mentally replied, _'But Hinata-chan—'_

Kyuubi interrrupted, **Forget it kit. If you value her so much, then let her do what she wants to do.**

Hinata used her slightly superior speed and made several blows aimed at his vital organs. Neji saw them coming though he needed to rely a little more on reflex in order to parry her attacks. She gave blow for blow until she saw a good opening and aimed to strike his chest.

'_There!' _the Hyuuga heiress thought. She went for it and instead, was the one who got struck in the heart. The two stood still for a second as the rush of chakra squeezed her heart.

Sakura wasn't able to see what happened clearly from her position. "Did she hit him?"

The Konoha jounins in the room flinched knowing what really happened. Naruto lowered his head and said, "No…she couldn't make it."

They watched and saw that Neji struck her chest with his right hand while his left struck her right arm. She coughed out blood that dripped on his hand. Neji then said, "So this was the best that the head family could do."

Though Hinata could feel pain in her chest, her spirit didn't break. She then parried his right arm with her left and tried to give a left palm strike to his face. Neji saw it coming and grabbed her wrist with his left hand at the last second and struck her forearm with his right, middle and index fingers. He kept his hold of her arm as she panted in pain. He then pulled up the sleeve of her arm and showed them the several red areas that showed he wasn't just parrying her attacks.

Hinata then gasped out, "So…you were…"

Neji then said, "Yes…I could see the tenketsu."

Naruto then said, "He hit her tenketsus."

Sakura then asked, "Hinata-chan mentioned that when we were fighting Zabuza. I don't fully understand that."

Kakashi then explained, "In the Chakra circulatory system, there are 361 points known as chakra holes. Their width is as small as a needle though. They're known as tenketsus. And in theory, if you hit them accurately, you can stop or increase the enemy's flow of chakra. You're basically able to control it. And let me add this, my **Sharingan **is unable to see those tenketsus." Sakura was surprised as Sasuke finished for Kakashi, "Although the **Sharingan** has the ability of insight, it can't see it that precisely in battle."

Neji then pushed Hinata away, causing her to fall and skid a few feet from him. Naruto sqeezed the bars even tighter causing it to cry a little as Neji said, "Hinata-sama. This is the difference in our unchangeable powers. It's the difference that separates the elites from the dropouts. This is the unchangeable reality."

Hinata tried to get up but barely had the strength to. She managed to turn her head and was panting hard as everything around her began to fade out. She then thought, _'Am I really this weak? Am I really unable to do anything?'_

Suddenly her vision waned and she began to see in black and white as she heard Neji say, "You were destined to regret this when you said that you didn't want to run away. "

She then thought, _'I can barely hear him now. Am I going to lose? At least I tried Kitsune…'_

Neji then said, "You should be in despair right now…"

She couldn't hear his voice anymore as the world deafened. Shen then fell to a crawling position as she tried to support herself with her arms. But as she struggled, the floor suddenly became like water. And from it, she saw herself in its reflection. She saw her young self and thought, _'That's me…' _Her young reflection was crying her little heart out as her memories begun to flash before her eyes. She saw everything that weighed her down. She saw her harsh father, her dead mother…her sister with a cruel face…the faceless elders who connived and secretly mocked her and backstabbed her. She suddenly fell through the floor as she gasped for air only to fall deeper in as she drowned in it like it was water.

Hinata then thought, _'These memories, they all made me feel ashamed and guilty. I was too afraid of them. And now, I'm drowning in my own guilt and shame. I couldn't do anything. I am too weak…I couldn't even if I tried. I deserve to die like this. I'm sorry Naruto-kun…I really do love you. But you deserve someone better and stronger. Please go on without me. I'll always remember that you really loved me…It was the happiest days of my life…'_

Suddenly she saw a black stony object at the bottom where she landed on. She curiously looked at the object and tried to touch it. When she looked hard enough, she noticed that its was a large black egg. The egg then glowed in a purple light and said, "_**You're going to give up now? You're not pathetic you know**_."

She was surprised by what she heard. The egg then spoke again. "_**You keep saying things like you're a martyr when in fact you're supposed to dominate and lead.**_"

Hinata then said, "But I wasn't even strong enough to--"

"_**Win? Is strength everything?**_" the egg retorted. Hinata was taken aback as the egg continued. "_**A fighter is measured by his strength. A warrior is measured by his bravery. A champion is measured by his heart. 'Only the strong**__**-**__**willed live' is a false belief. No one is born strong. Everyone is weak and wicked. What makes people strong is not what they are, but what they can be. This is the secret to purity—walking by faith and not by sight.**_"

Hinata then replied, "But I don't understand. Why are you telling me all this?"

The egg then replied, "_**Why aren't you drowning?**_" she suddenly covered her mouth only to realize that she hasn't drowned yet. In fact, she was breathing underwater and speaking in it. The egg then said, "_**Stop looking and start seeing. The body is only tortured by the demon of the heart. You didn't feel pain because you had no demon in your heart. Normal people would have died after the first hit. Yet you held on. You had the will to fight. And whether you believe it or not, the desire to fight. If you continue running from the problems you are facing it will continue to stay with you longer. If you fight them it will make you stronger.**_"

Hinata then said, "But you haven't really answered my question."

The egg then said, "_**I can grant you the power to fight and win. But the reason I can is because it is not mine. It is yours that has lain dormant in you for so long. You don't feel it because it is so small but full of power. It is the most powerful force in the entire universe. All you need is to crack open this shell and I will grant it to you.**_"

Hinata took a step back from the egg and replied, "But, how can I trust you?"

The egg then replied, "_**You can't. I'm offering it to you freely. Otherwise, you will drown here forever.**_ "

Hinata understood that she couldn't leave unless she took the power. So she decided to gamble her life and said, "Wakata. I'll take it then." She then began beating the egg but it wasn't cracking anytime soon. The water lessened her strength, slowing her down and making her weaker than normal. She put all her effort but was unable to make a dent on the shell.

Panting away, she said, "It's impossible to break this. The water is stopping me from breaking it."

The egg then said, "_**You can't gain what you want by staying passive. Put your heart into it if it is that important to you.**_ "

Hinata then thought as she struck harder, _'Why would I want power? What do I need it for?' _but as she struck harder, she remembered Naruto throughout it all how he helped her and saved her and showed his love for her. When she remembered that, she then struck with more force and thought, _'That's right. I want more power so that I can stand with him and fight alongside him. He is my inspiration. He was the fuel to the fire of my heart.'_

"I won't lose!" Hinata said with conviction as her body became hotter and she made a crack in the egg. A powerful silver light started to glow from the crack. The water around her started to heat up and she returned to reality and slowly got up.

Naruto then cheered her on and said, "Hinata-chan! Gambare! Beat him up!"

Hinata then said without facing Neji, "I'm not…going…to take back…my words…"

She then faced Neji with **Byakugan **activated. "That's my way of the ninja." Blood was dripping from her mouth but she wasn't going to give up. She then took off her jacket and tied it around her waist. Her eyes sharpened as her face dawned a determined expression.

All who saw her were shocked. This included Naruto who said, "So cool. I didn't know that Hinata-chan was so tough." _'She's tough that's for sure. But something about her has changed.'_

Lee then said, "That's because she's similar to you."

Sakura nodded and said, "Come to think of it, she's always watching you and getting closer to you."

Neji then goaded her to attack. She coughed out some blood making Naruto worried. Kurenai knew where this will lead from here and thought, _'She can't fight anymore. If she takes anymore attacks…'_

Hinata then steeled her heart and thought, _'I will not lose here! If I have to crawl to get there, I will. Nothing will get between me and Naruto-kun because…he is my precious person.'_

Suddenly, like a bolt out of the blue, Hinata's vein pulsing eyes ceased and changed into a slit lavender one. But that wasn't all. Reiatsu began pouring out of her at such a rate that it became visible to the eyes of the audience causing them to wonder in absolute confusion. The ground around her started to crack while her breathing started to slow down indicating she was calming down.

Ino then said, "What's happening to her?"

Gai then faced Kurenai and asked, "Kurenai, has she learned of the Celestial Gates?"

Kurenai answered, "No, I wouldn't teach her something so reckless."

Kakashi then thought, _'That aura and energy is the same as the medic nins and the power that was sealed inside Sasuke!'_

Neji then thought, _'That's impossible. I sealed her main tenketsus. What's going on here?'_

Naruto didn't know what to think. He felt it clear as day and accidentally muttered, "No way…Reiatsu overload…"

Sasuke then heard him and asked, "What do you mean?"

Kakashi finally caught Naruto in the act when he heard those words. Sasuke also finally got something on Naruto while Shikamaru kept his eyes glued on the match. Haku then thought, _'Neji might lose if she fights him.'_

Hinata suddenly vanished in a blur. Neji didn't see it coming and suddenly received a straight, right punch to his gut. He was sent crashing into the wall. They were shocked by what occurred as the stoic boy got out of the crater in the wall. Hinata then rushed forward and grabbed his right arm with her right hand and pulled him closer so that she could give him a right elbow smash to his right temple. She was fast enough and the attack connected. Taking advantage of his stunned form, she pulled down his right arm with her left hand this time and in one fluid motion, she pulled him closer and gave a left elbow smash to his face while she gripped his arm with her right hand. She then pulled him in again and held him by the nape with both hands and then pulled his head down and gave him alternating knee strikes to the face and ribs. She kept it up at a speed he could not follow until she let go of the clinch and gave him a rising right knee to the face.

Neji's face was bloody and bruised from the heavy attacks but it didn't stop there. She used the momentum of her attack and grabbed his head with her two hands while in mid-air, and swung her body around like a gymnast and used the full momentum of her swing to give him a left knee strike to his left temple. He skidded for on the floor, but Hinata was close behind and leaped on top of him and started giving a barrage of punches and palm strikes to his body while on the mount though he was poorly defending himself.

Sakura then gasped out, "Hinata's gone berserk! Kakashi-sensei, we should stop the match!"

Kakashi then faced Naruto and said, "Somehow stopping the match would disqualify her. what do you think Naruto?"

Naruto gripped the railings and said, "Only Haku can decide right now." _'It'll be all right. Whether you win or lose, you've done your best…Hina-hime.' _He then shouted, "Give it to him! Don't stop till he's crushed!"

Hinata gave everything she had at him until his defense finally broke. She then coiled back her right fist while she held his face with her left hand. Neji could see the silhouette of the black dragon around her and the head on her cocked right hand with it's mouth open wide to devour him. She then quickly let loose her weapon only to come up short as Neji instinctively struck with both hands her chest. She stopped halfway but the reiatsu pressure from her punch still hit his stomach causing him to cough out blood as well.

She then collapsed to the side as her eyes returned to normal. Neji got up but was weary from her attacks. Those who watched were disappointed with the outcome however, Naruto was on the verge of tears as he remembered the what happened in the seal of the phoenix.

Neji then coughed out, "You are such a stubborn person. I'll admit you were able to hurt me, but they weren't effective enough to stop me. It's over."

Neji began to walk away until he could hear Hinata struggle to get up. Naruto saw her and thought, _'No, why is she getting up? She should stay down!'_ But when he saw Hinata's steeled eyes, he then remembered his old self and saw the fire in her heart from his past lifetime. This was the part of Hinata he loved the most—her passion. Haku then said, "She's taken too much damage. The match is—"

"Not over." Naruto shouted causing them to look at him as he thought, _'Hinata-chan is so brave. She fell down so many times but she still got up every time. She's done everything despite how painful it was for her. I still don't understand why she's enduring so much more than I ever did, but that's also why…I love her so much. You really are a dragon.'_

Sakura then berated him. "Baka. Hinata can't fight anymore! She can barely stand!"

Hinata stood up, though she was shaking furiously from the pain. She panted hard and held her chest as her jacket fell to the floor. Neji faced her and said, "Why did you stand?" Neji saw her confident smile through the pain and it made him snap causing Lee and Kurenai to become alert.

Hinata then harshly muttered through the blood in her mouth, "I can still…"

Neji then coldly commanded, "There's no point in acting tough. You're barely able to stand up. I can tell with these eyes that you have carried the destiny known as the Hyuuga Family. You cursed your powerlessness and blamed yourself. But people cannot change. This is destiny. There's no need to suffer. Let yourself go."

Hinata then retorted, "You're wrong, Neji-nii-san. Because I can see…that you are suffering more than me." Neji was confused by what she said but she continued anyway. "You are the one who is confused and suffering inside the fate of the head and the branch families."

Neji really snapped and charged at Hinata. Haku protested but wasn't heard so he ran to intercept him. But instead, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of Hinata, unafraid, and ready to kill. Luckily, Kakashi, Lee and Kurenai held Neji down at the same time.

Gai then scolded Neji, "Neji, cut it out. You have made a passionate promise with me that you will not argue with me about the head family."

Neji replied with hate in his voice, "Why did the other jounins come out? Does the head family receive special treatment?"

Hinata then fell to the ground. Naruto quickly caught her and commanded, "Where are the medics?"

Kurenai quickly ran to the two of them and checked Hinata's pulse. She shivered when she felt it fade away fast. She then said, "Naruto, there's no time. We need to get her to the hospital fast. That last attack injured her badly."

Naruto then took out a food pill and gently placed it in her mouth while he said, "Eat it. It will help you recover." He then forced a smile and said, "You did well Hinata." She then ate it and swallowed. By this time, Sakura and Lee came down as well and Neji managed to keep his anger in check. Neji then said to Naruto, "Hey dropout." The young blonde gazed at him with hate as Neji continued, "Let me warn you about two things. If you're a ninja, stop with that unsightly cheering for a stranger. And one more thing, a dropout is a dropout. They cannot change."

Naruto's eyes became red and slit alerting Kakashi until he closed them and took a deep breath before walking towards Neji until Lee ran in front of him and said, "I understand your feelings Naruto-kun. But you should fight in a proper match. A dropout will beat a genius with hard work. The main matches will be exciting."

Naruto then ran back to Hinata and gently picked her up as she coughed out blood again. Some spilled on her chest while a litte flowed to his hand. It flashed back in his mind the incident in the seal of the phoenix, stunning him for a second. Kurenai then shouted, "Medical team what are you doing?! Hurry!" Naruto then snapped back to reality and ran towards the entrance to the ward until Inoue, Rukia and Ishida came out.

"What happened?" Rukia asked. Ishida then took out his stethoscope and listened to her heartbeat and pulse. He then said, "She's going into ventricular fibrillation. She's in critical condition."

Inoue then said, "We'll take it from here."

Naruto then said, "I'm already holding her. We don't have time to put her in a stretcher. Especially since…"

Rukia then said, "It's alright. We felt it too. We can handle the rest. Ikimasho."

Naruto, with his red, slit eyes, then looked back at Neji one last time and raised his bloodied fist at him and said, "Neji, I will win. By this blood she shed, I will win. Don't underestimate a kitsune…Especially one with more than one tail."

The four of them then ran into the medical room leaving behind a curious Shikamaru and even more suspicious Kakashi.

Naruto didn't think of the match that was going to come next as he followed the trio into the emergency room. The other medics looked at Naruto with mixed emotions until Inoue commanded, "Mina, clear the room! Get a stretcher, some water and a room to the hospital fast."

The junior medics did as they were told allowing Naruto to place Hinata on the surgery table. Hinata was almost unconscious by this time as Inoue used her **Santen Keshuun** on Hinata. She started healing her making Naruto, Rukia and Ishida finally sigh in relief. Ishida then said, "When I felt that sudden reiatsu pulse I knew something was wrong. Somehow, she's responsible."

Naruto nodded and said, "She suddenly got up and changed. Her eyes became slit and this powerful aura started coming out of her. I've never felt anything like it. It was so overwhelming."

Rukia then said, "But she barely knows how to use reiatsu. For a regular human being to do that is amazing. She must have a strong spirit."

Naruto replied with a sad look, "But she lost."

Ishida then said, "That's impossible. I felt her reiatsu wasn't raw like Ichigo or Chad. But it was powerful enough that even a weak hollow can get killed."

Naruto then said, "So she lost on purpose. Is that what you're telling me?"

Hinata suddenly answered, "Are you angry Naruto-kun?"

They faced her and the young blonde said, "Hinata-chan! You should be resting."

Hinata replied, "Gomenasai Naruto-kun. I held back a little so that I would lose."

Naruto then asked, "Doshite? What for? If you could win why didn't you?"

Hinata then said, "Because I saw the pain in his eyes. If I won, it would just make him even more hurt inside. And, I didn't want to end up fighting you in the finals."

She coughed a bit making Naruto come closer until he could see she was recovering quickly. He then shed tears there and said, "Why…why are you enduring all this?"

Hinata then said, "Because, I am with you till the end Naruto-kun. You've suffered all your life and I've been sad ever since I heard your story." Naruto was speechless at this point. Hinata continued, "I knew that what I suffered was small compared to yours. But most of all, I really didn't know what it meant to suffer the way you did. So I made my decision to get up and share your pain so that you won't be alone and walk alone in this life."

"Hinata-chan…"Naruto muttered with tears flowing from his face. Rukia handed him a tissue for him to wipe his face with until Inoue finished healing her. Naruto quickly ran to her and hugged her with all his might and said, "Don't be a reckless idiot like me. If we're both reckless, No one's going to save us if we fall."

He then let go and gazed at her face with his azure eyes, showing that he had calmed down. Hinata then said, "I'm sorry for my selfishness, but this is the one place I'll never stop being stubborn, because I love you."

Inoue then started to cry as well until a medic came in and said, "We have a room for the paitent."

Inoue then said, "Wakata. Iko, Hinata-chan." She then helped Hinata to her feet and walked her to the hospital through the side exit.

Naruto then said, "I'm really amazed by her. She fought long and hard and still held back for me. I feel really embarrassed right now."

Rukia replied, "It's not so bad. Besides, we still need to find out the source of her sudden reiatsu overload."

Naruto nodded. Ishida then asked, "Naruto, is there anyone else we need to take care of?"

The medical ward had it's own TV set inside for the medics to get an update on the current battles and they saw Haku announce the beginning of the match.

The young blonde then said, "Shoot! Gaara and Lee are fighting right now!"

Naruto was about to run out until Ishida held him back by the collar and said, "Matte Naruto. You can't rush in suddenly in the middle of the battlefield."

Naruto then stopped and said, "Alright. I won't for now. But I'll call up Yoruichi-san and find out what's happening out there." He took out his GPS and dialed the number for the house phone. It rang twice before Urahara's voice said over the phone, "Naruto-kun. What a surprise. Are you done there?"

The young blonde replied, "Most of the matches are done. Only two are remaining. Hinata-chan is being escorted to the hospital while I'm stuck in the medical ward since the match already started. Did you guys close the wormholes?"

Urahara replied, "Hmmm. I think we did for now. But you never know what will happen tomorrow. After all, we've got a strong hollow here who's actually alive."

Ichigo then grabbed the phone from Urahara and said, "We took care of the hollows here. Did you put the seal on Sasuke?"

Naruto replied, "Sasuke's fine. He had the strength to watch the match. But it's you guys and Hinata-chan that I'm worried about."

Ichigo replied, "We're okay. It's all over."

Naruto then shut his GPS and tucked it back in his jacket. He watched the match from his screen in the medical ward. Ishida and Rukia watched alongside him and saw how it progressed.

Ishida then said, "They're barely teenagers and already they can do moves like that. This world is completely different from ours."

Rukia then said, "Naruto, you grew up in a world like this. To think there were people like this aside from Ishida, Chad and Inoue around. How did you survive?"

The young blonde then said in a solemn voice while facing the TV, "I didn't. I was already dead from the beginning. You know my past. I screwed up and kept yelling 'I'll be the next Hokage' and wore colors that attracted attention. All I wanted was to be loved and acknowledged. But love isn't something given so freely here. Very few people loved me for who I was. And I'm happy that I have them. But…" he then faced them properly and said, "I received those people, a little too late…I tried hard to keep my promises and not screw up. But in the end, I died before I could keep one of them and lost the person who loved me the most."

Rukia then replied in sympathy, "I really envy Hinata-dono. She has someone as honest and direct as you."

Naruto suddenly smiled and said, "Hey, that's all behind me now. I don't need to look back on that. No matter how much it shoves itself in my face, I'll always move forward. It's the only way to solve my problems…facing it and accepting it. You should do the same…" he then pointed to the ring on her left hand and said, "Especially since you're married."

Rukai then replied, "Arigato Naruto. I really needed that."

The young blonde then said to Ishida, "How about you megane-kun? Do you have someone already?"

Ishida had veins throbbing from the insult and said, "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell it to someone like you."

Naruto then continued to watch the match until he saw Lee used the **Ura Renge**. When he saw that move, he decided to make his move. He then used **Shunpo** and arrived at the arena. When he saw the hand of sand about to crush Lee, suddenly, a wall of ice appeared and blocked it. And behind that wall, stood Haku with his hands in the bird seal. The young bishounen then said, "Lee is unable to fight. I declare Gaara the winner. We don't need to continue."

Naruto sighed and looked at the sandaime who had a confident smile.

"Sugoi! He's so cool, literally!" Ino squealed in delight.

Asuma then said, "Koori…another **Kekei Genkai** for Konoha. And a boy of his age too."

Kakashi then said, "He's the last of his clan before he became a Konoha nin."

Ino then thought, _'He's all alone? This is perfect! Now I can really have him and he's extremely nice too.'_

Naruto then noticed that the sand quickly went around the ice and managed to grab Lee's arm. Naruto then **shunpo'd **to the spot and used the wind to form a blade around his hand and he severed the sand as Haku then made several handseals and said, "**Hitjutsu, Koori no Keimusho.**" A wall of ice suddenly shot out of the ground and formed around Gaara, disconnecting him from the sand that nearly took Lee's arms and legs.

Naruto then shouted to the sandaime, "Gaara already won! Should he be disqualified for that?"

The old Hokage shook his head and thought, _'Even if I wanted to, Orochimaru would still attack.'_

Gaara then burst out of the ice wall as the sand returned to becoming the gourd on his back. Gai then took Lee in his arms. Gaara then asked while holding his head, "Why did you help him?"

Gai then answered, "He's an important subordinate I love."

Baki then thought, _'Gaara would never understand such a thing.'_

Naruto then hollered out, "Medic! I need the medical team. Full body muscle tension with cell degeneration of the bones!"

Ishida and Rukia came out with a stretcher and Ishida carefully took the boy from his sensei and put him on a stretcher as Gaara walked back to the balcony. Ishida then used **Ransōtengai **on Lee like Kankuro would with his puppets except reaitsu was the medium. He pulled up and down, side to side with each limb. He even did so with Lee's neck and chest.

Kankuro then said, "That's impossible! How does a Konoha nin know the secrets of Suna?"

Baki then answered, "I don't know. But something is off here with his jutsu."

Ishida then stopped and put his hand on his chin. He then went to Lee's legs and grabbed the other end of the stretcher while Rukia grabbed the end where Lee's head rested. They then took Lee to the back room where Lee awaited treatment.

Naruto then said to Gai, "Gai-sensei, Fuzzy Eyebrows fought with all his might. I won't let his effort be in vain."

Gai then faced Naruto and replied, "Arigato Naruto-kun. You truly are a man among men."

Haku then inspected the arena and thought, _'This place looks like a war zone. Good thing it's the last match.'_ He then announced, "The last match is Dosu Kinuta vs. Akamichi Chouji."

The two fighters stepped up to the battle-scarred arena and duked it out without hesitation. It was a short match with Dosu the winner. Rukia then came out of the ward and took Chouji to the back room.

Shikamaru then said with a bored expression, "The opponent went easy on him."

Asuma commented, "He lost, but I guess I can take him to eat barbeque."

The sandaime then thought, _'The main matches will finally begin.'_

Anko then sighed and said, "That was the most exciting set of matches I've ever watched. The Chuunin Exams never had this kind of excitement in ages."

Ibiki crossed his arms and said, "But now we have to prepare for the worst after this."

Anko asked, "What's wrong? Are we going to see something really ugly after?"

The sandaime didn't further comment and said, "Let's just prepare for whatever fate might throw at us."

Haku then announced, "This concludes the Third Exam's preliminary matches. Those who have won, please assemble here for a word with the Hokage."

The Sandaime, Ibiki and Anko went down and stood front and center with the winners opposite them. Haku knew his task was done and decided to stand beside Anko.

Sarutobi then said, "To those who have made it to the main matches of the Chuunin Exam's Third Exam, congratulations."

Sakura then asked Kakashi with a worried expression, "Sensei…may I ask something?"

Kakashi then replied, "About Sasuke? Sorry, but I'm not sure myself." He then placed his hands in his pocket and said, "Sakura, I'm going to leave, so tell me the details of the main matches later." _'I have to retrieve that video tape and have a word with Mizore and Naruto later.'_

The Hokage then said, "I will now begin the explanation for the main matches." The hokage paused for a minute to catch his breath and then said, "Your main match fights will be shown in front of everyone. We wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representative power. Therefore, the main matches will begin in one month."

Naruto then thought, _'Another month. With that time, I can get Kakashi-sensei off my tail, find out the reason behind Sasuke's transformation, think of a way to get Baa-chan here, make preparations for the Exam, plan out our next plan of attack during the invasion, find out about the status of the elemental gods and spend time with Hinata-chan.'_

The hokage continued, "The one month time is a time to conduct appropriate preparations. In other words, we are going to announce to the feudal lords and head ninja of the individual countries that the preliminary matches have ended and time is needed to gather those people for the main matches. This is also preperation time for you candidates."

Kankuro then said, "I still don't understand. Explain."

Naruto then replied, "We need that time to analyze the information we gathered from these matches so that we can be better prepared for the upcoming matches. If we fight later, we'll be able to know the other's strength's and weaknesses and some don't even have the energy to continue now."

The old Hokage then said, "That's right. But before you go, there is something else that you must do." Seeing that they were listening, he then continued. "Take a piece from the box that Anko is holding."

Anko then went around until everyone picked a piece of paper with a number on it. Ibiki then asked them to say their numbers out loud allowing him to write the line up.

When all their numbers were written down, the hokage then said, "We will now tell you the match ups for the tournament."

They were surpised while Naruto stayed calm and cool. Ibiki showed them the match ups and it was exactly like before.

Naruto Vs. Neji

Gaara Vs. Sasuke

Kankuro Vs. Shino

Temari wating for the winner of the match of Shikamaru and Dosu

In that order.

Naruto smirked and thought, _'Things will get rowdy at that time. We'll need to be very careful from here __on out__.'_

Shikamaru then asked, "If it's a tournament, then there can only be one winner right? Does that mean that only one person can be a chuunin?"

The sandaime then answered, "No, that's not how it is. These main matches will have judges, including me, Kazekage, as well as the feudal lords and head ninja from the other countries who will be future clients. These judges will grade you by watching you in the tournament. And those who are qualified to be a chuunin, even if they lose in the first round, will become a chuunin."

Sasuke then said, "So everyone can become a chuunin or fail."

The hokage then said, "Hai. Winning the matches in the tournament means that you can show off your skills more. Understand, Shikamaru-kun?" Seeing his even more bored expression than before, he continued. "That is all. We are adjourned until next month."

The teams then dispersed and went on their way.

Naruto then took two steps back before turning on his heel. Sasuke then took Naruto by the hand and said, "Where are you going?"

The young blonde then said, "I'm headed to the hospital to visit our friends. They should be there"

Sakura then leaped off the balcony and said as she ran to her team, "I'm coming too."

Sasuke let go and said, "So we're all going together. Don't think of running off."

The young blonde and his team were about to leave until Shikamaru and Ino approached them. Shikamaru then said, "Ino can you bring it out?" Ino then showed them the three-pronged kunai making Team Seven went wide-eyed when they saw it.

Shikamaru then asked, "Where did you find a kunai like this?"

Naruto replied, "Those are custom made. When I got enough money, I was able to ask the blacksmith to make me some. Where did you find that one?"

Shikamaru answered, "I found it in a large tree. Someone used to live there from the looks inside and when I saw it attached to the wall closest to the bed."

It finally connected in Sasuke's head. "You didn't just spend time in the Forest of Death. You actually lived here."

Sakura then gasped and covered her mouth when she heard that. Ino and Shikamaru were confused. Ino then asked, "What do you mean?"

Sasuke then said, "This idiot here told us that he spent his free time during his days in the Academy here. But what you told us now means that he's been using this place as his home."

Naruto backed away while he thought, _'Damn it! He found it! Wait…It doesn't matter anymore so why am I nervous.'_

His tenant then said, **Don't waste time on these meatbags. Move!**

Naruto then said, "Tell you what. Since you guys are so eager to investigate about me, I'll teach you something cool if you can find out anything and everything about that three-pronged kunai before the day of the Finals. If you can't do that, then I won't teach you or tell you anything."

Shikamaru then said, "A troublesome challenge. But I've come too far to back out now. Especially in front of girls."

Sasuke then said, "I'm not afraid of a challenge."

Naruto then said, "Good. Because this Kitsune is one step ahead of the hounds." With that, the wind blew inside carrying some leaves. Sasuke grabbed a hold of Naruto to prevent him from leaving only for the young blonde to suddenly transform into a log.

Naruto proved to be more elusive than ever. He showed that he had so much up his sleeves and had connections in places that they never thought possible. He was a mystery that could not be unwravelled. Only his few close friends truly knew him. But even they agreed one thing about Naruto…he was The Enigmatic Maverick.

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Yattase! Sorewa owari waru! I've been feeling condemned lately that I took too long to finish this. But it's finally done so I'm out of Hueco Mundo…for now. (Why is the moon suddenly red? And is that…oh great. Red manateu, white gloves with the pentango on them, orange googles and red hat along with black flowing hair and a cryptic smile. I need backup. ) In other news, I finally found my flow in school. Now to find my flow in . (Why is there a black notebook in my room? Oh, that's the live action in my TV. My mistake. Guy in red outfit is still here. I need the guy from FF versus XIII to stop him.) I hope you love this chapter. If there are things that are still blurry to you, don't be afraid to PM me. I'll answer as much as I can. I'm just happy to be able to write this story. Anyway, Ja ne!

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**Doton, Kawarimi no Jutsu**(Earth release, Replacement technique)- Ninjutsu technique that replaces your body with rocks. What gives it an advantage is the fact that physical attackers, especially of taijutsu origin, are harmed or dulled because of the rocks.

**Ninpou, Nijuu Mi no Jutsu**(Hidden art, Doppelganger technique)- Genjutsu and Ninjutsu mixed technique that projects the user's worst fears in an incarnate form through the use of a shadow clone while at the same time, masking the presence of the user from the opponents eyes causing him to focus only on the pseudo-clone. Depending on the amount of chakra used, the technique can be layered to create a double or triple effect trap when the opponent forcefully releases himself from the technique.

**Hitjutsu, Koori no Keimusho**(Hidden Art, Prison of Ice)- Simply put, a wall of ice from the water underneath the earth. The wall works like an iceberg so digging it out isn't the answer to escaping it.


	24. The Snakes in the Grass

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: Yare Yare Yare. Mina wa doo desu ka?(How are you all doing?)

Crap!(Evades several bullets and RPGs before diving behind a bar counter.)

Barkeep behind the counter: Damn you! This is all your fault! You made 'em wait for too long! Some author you are! Who's gonna' pay for all the shit you racked up? Revy ain't here to save our hides you know!

Easy there... It ain't easy to study you know? School can be a drag but at least I don't update every oh I don't know, year? Two months plus is like the updates of Vampire Knight, Rosario+Vampire, and Berserk. Then again you have a point. (Brings out a Dragunov Sniper Rifle and takes down ten angry readers with headshots from behind the counter.)

There. All right, while I'm busy with the rabid haters (throws a flashbang and dives inside janitor closet to reload) you guys can enjoy the fresh update if you're still interested. I'm finally free enough to take back my loyal supporters, even if it means through force. (Charges out of closet with big-ass balisong in between my teeth while open firing with the fully reloaded SVD.) Let's taste the blood!

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 24**

_**The Snakes in the Grass**_

Right after the preliminaries…

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The young blonde walked down the road towards Konoha Hospital. Luckily, today in the wee hours before visitations would end for the day, he entered the double doors and asked the attendant at the counter if there was a Hyuuga Hinata checked in. The nurse was perplexed at why the demon of Konoha would have business with an aristocrat like the Hyuuga Clan. But since her shift would be over, she then checked the registry one last time and said, "Hyuuga Hinata is in emergency care at the moment. I'm afraid that she can't have any visitors for the day."

Naruto then sighed and said, "Arigato gozaimashta. Shitsureeshimasu." (Thank you very much. Excuse me.) He then bowed slightly and left as easily as he came.

The nurse then thought, _'Since when did demons make bows and politeness a part of their attitude? This doesn't make sense.'_

Naruto walked out of the hospital not minding the death-glares shot at him from the population that hated him. His fiery tenant then said, **So…what now? Doesn't look like you'll be able to visit anyone.**

"I'll just head home then. Still have to get an update on the situation with the hollows." The young blonde said as he **shunpo'd** out of sight. Unfortunately, his movements attracted attention from Tenten who was just earshot from the hospital. She went to look what made that strange sound but there was no sight of what made it. She then thought, _'It must be the wind. Lately I've been tense after what happened at the preliminary matches. I better go help Neji in his upcoming match with Naruto.'_

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Kakashi finally managed to drop Sasuke off at the hospital and was on his way to return the tape to his 'friend' and have a talk with her.

When he finally reached the red light district he then thought, _'A lot of things happened today and I need a break. Now where is…'_

He looked left and right until he heard several sounds of crunching bones, torn flesh, and some screams of agony. His instincts went into high gear and he sprinted off into the direction of where it came from. When he came upon a small crowd, he shoved his way through to see five broken thugs scattered on the ground with Mizore standing in the middle while a group of three more thugs were a few steps in front of her. The middle thug was armed with a knife.

Kakashi then looked to his left and saw the video store. He then gazed back at the scene before him as the rough looking thug, that he presumed to be the leader, spoke.

"Damn ye woman! I tried teh reason wit'cha, but'cha jus' whacked teh shit outta' me crew!" the rough-looking thug said while his right hand that held his poorly made knife shook in fear.

Mizore then said, "I don't think that that's right. You stormed into my shop, tossed out my customers, and demanded protection money when I never even asked for help from any syndicate. I don't even know any of you."

The lanky thug on the right of the rough looking one said, "What kind of reasoning is that? You wouldn't even be here without our help."

The fat one on the left of the rough looking one said, "C'mon, let's be reasonable 'ere. Tell ya what, we forget the whole mess if'n ya come with us down at the bar."

"No way in hell!" said Kwago as he stepped out of the video store with a navy blue do-rag to add to his attire. "You idiots keep yapping about how important you are but face the facts. We got here on our own. In fact, there isn't a syndicate in Konoha! You want money? Then get your lazy ass back to work!"

The lanky thug then rolled up his sleeves and charged at Mizore as he shouted, "I'll smack that shit back at ya!"

The lanky thug tried to spear her, but Mizore, in one fluid motion, grabbed his right arm with her left and placed her right forearm over his nape and her right hand under his right armpit and held it. While in the momentum, she yanked his right arm upward with her left and simultaneously dropped to her right knee causing the man's head to hit the ground hard and his neck to break with a sickening snap because her forearm still held the pressure on his neck. (Trust me, that move will kill when someone spears you.) She then let go of the thug and looked at the remaining ones with concern in her eyes.

The other two thugs were quite shaken, realizing their friend was no longer moving, as she got up leaving the lanky thug dead on the ground. She then spoke in a calm, practiced voice, "Please… we don't want to hurt you."

The fat thug attacked next. He charged and threw a right haymaker. Mizore simply stepped to the left, grabbed his wrist with her right hand, and turned right. At the same time, she held his arm, just above the elbow, with her left as the man lost his balance. She then snapped the arm and quickly wrung her right arm around his neck with the backside of her hand as the anchor and slinked her left arm under his left armpit and placed her left hand firmly on his nape and stepped back causing the man to lean back on her while on the chokehold. She then dropped down on her right knee once more, snapping this man's neck as well.

She let go and stepped in front of the fat cadaver to face the last thug.

Kakashi was shocked by what he saw. He was stunned that a woman of her caliber was living in this side of town.

The rough looking man pointed his knife at her and in a shaky and slightly hysterical voice, exclaimed his rage at losing his companions and fear of what was to come, "B-B-Bitch! Die!"

He charged and lunged with his knife, but she anticipated the last thug's moves as well. She quickly grabbed his wrist with her right hand and twisted it while giving a hard palm strike to his face with her left causing the blade to fall. In one fluid motion before he could react, She then curled her left arm back, grabbing his right forearm with her left hand while pushing his right arm back with her right hand by his right hand and then putting his right wrist behind his head with both arms and then tucking his head in between her right forearm giving him a chokehold.

The choking man tried to pry himself free with his other arm but only managed to rip her right sleeve, revealing eight black bands tattooed on her right arm.

Mizore then hoisted him over her slim frame from the chokehold causing him to land on top of his right arm behind her as he gasped for air and got on his knees.

She then faced him and said, "We can offer you a job in our store if you need money that badly. So please stop this before we call the shinobis over."

The man was cringing from the pain of his twisted wrist. He then suddenly bolted and grabbed the knife on the floor with his left and lunged at Mizore who stepped back from the initial strike to give distance as she threw down her left arm causing her hidden balisong to fall into her left hand and flipped it open to reveal it's one-sided blade.

She then said, "If that's the case, then my bente nueve will teach you instead."(It's a 29cm balisong from hilt to blade. Those are the common sizes in my country and they are REALLY SHARP. I know from experience.)

Mizore held the balisong in a reverse grip as the man lunged at her. She grabbed his left wrist with her right while parrying his left arm with her knife. She then pulled him in with her right as she slunk her left arm under and over it causing his left arm to bend over her left shoulder as she brought her blade over his throat and stabbing deep in his jugular before cutting his head off in a sawing motion and finally yanking it out by the hair leaving his body to fall to the floor in a rapidly increasing pool of blood.

What made things even more shocking was that the blood from his neck slinked through the air and formed a ninth black band on her right arm as she let go of the severed head.

Those who witnessed this were shocked and scared and most fled during the fight. Kakashi then entered the scene as Mizore cleaned the blood off her blade with the shirt of the fallen thug.

"You're pretty good." The silver haired jounin said. He then thought, _'Now I know why sensei said to never underestimate a woman.'_

Mizore looked back at him and said, "So does this mean that we'll be heading to jail?"

Kakashi then said as he returned to his senses, "No. From my point of view, you killed them in self defense." _'Her skills are too sharp to be in self-defense though. Either she's fought all her life or she's a shinobi. I've never seen her in the ranks though…then again, I rarely join those meetings so I don't know what goes on while I'm away.'_

The lazy beauty sighed in relief as she flipped the blade back in its sheath and tucked it in her sleeve again.

Kakashi then asked, "So…are you a shinobi?"

Kwago then approached them and said, "No. But her mother and my mother were. Both were Konoha shinobi. You must've thought she was one when you saw her Kekei Genkai."

Kakashi then said, "So I was right." He then brought out his tape from his back pouch and said, "Here's the tape. I didn't expect 'that' to show up when I was recording the preliminaries."

Mizore then took the tape and said, "Sorry about that. I mixed up the tapes by accident. I owe you twice now."

Kakashi replied, "Don't worry about it." He then nicked his thumb and summoned Pakkun who looked at him and asked, "What do you need now?" Pakkun then suddenly leaped back and faced Mizore and Kwago while making a low but threatening growl.

Kakashi then asked what was wrong only for Pakkun to reply, "These people have eaten my kind! I can smell it a mile away!"

The sliver haired jounin then looked to Mizore who said, "Unfortunately yes. We had no other option since we're poor. That…and its otou-san's favorite food."

Kakashi then said to Pakkun, "Tell the Hokage that a fight broke out here and some people died so we need to clean up."

Pakkun then gave a hard glare to Kakashi before scurrying off to the Hokage Tower.

The silver haired jounin then faced Mizore and said, "Now that that's taken care of, you mind if we talk?"

Kwago then said, "Alright. Come inside then."

The trio entered the video store to discuss some interesting matters. Meanwhile back at the Namikaze House…

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Naruto entered the house to see Renji resting by the couch with bandages all over and Chad looking slightly worse for wear while Ichigo slept on the floor. Yoruichi entered from the kitchen with a bowl of ramen in one hand. She then saw Naruto and said, "Oi bozu, How was the matches?"

The young blonde replied, "Not so bad aside from what happened to Hinata and Sasuke."

Yoruichi then sat down on the floor while Naruto did the same. Renji then asked, "What about Rukia, Ishida and Inoue?"

Naruto replied, "The three are still in the medical wards. They should be coming home soon."

Chad then sat beside Renji and said, "The hollows swarmed in fast."

Yoruichi nodded as she slurped some ramen.

Naruto replied, "I doubt that's the last of them. This is bad. Not only do we have an invasion, but we also have hollow threats."

Yoruichi then slurped down the last ramen of her bowl and placed it on the floor before crossing her arms. "The rifts from Hueco Mundo have finally opened here. According to the database in Sereitei, there have never been any hollow activities in this world. Even my new sources here tell me that there isn't any type of spirits like the hollows. But with a new source of food, they'll all mob up eventually."

Naruto replied, "Just like for the past few days."

Yoruichi nodded. "So many holes opened up at once that we barely had time to close any of it. We were in a pinch. But what was puzzling was that they didn't attempt to enter Konoha. Most of them stood on the outskirts."

Renji then replied, "They didn't bother to move too much or retreat. Was the attack a distraction?"

Naruto placed his hand on his chin and thought for a moment. He then replied with a sharp face, "The reiatsu that emanated from Sasuke flared out causing the hollows to appear. But the way they flared out was like one of those distress beacons—short powerful pulses."

Chad then lifted his head so that his left eye could see them clearly. "Maybe it was a call for reinforcements."

They pondered on it for a while until Yoruichi asked, "What about Sasuke, bozu?"

Naruto then shook his head and said, "I wasn't able to stick around to know what happened. But I'm sure they were able to since he did watch the last matches. But when his reiatsu first flared out, Kyuubi said that it was Sasuke's reiatsu and someone else's combined."

Yoruichi was confused. "But it was off the charts and close to the initial readings of the reiatsu of the elemental gods."

Naruto replied, "If that's the case, then why isn't there an army of soul bound armors in Konoha?"

Renji then replied, "Sorry Naruto. We don't know as much as you do since they were around during the old man's time."

Naruto then asked, "Where's Urahara-san by the way?"

Renji replied, "He went to look for more electronic parts. But I bet ya anything he's resting at a fancy hot spring."

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Urahara, with his hat still on his head, sneezed from his relaxed state in the hot springs. He then said, "Gee, someone must be talking about me. This means I have to get back to work."

He then took the newspaper beside him and returned to his research. His eyes widened a bit when he saw a specific article. He then read it slightly aloud. "Konoha spearheads the summer by being the first host for this year's Chunin Exams. Daimyos and citizens are all allowed to witness this event as shinobis battle for their honor and the honor of their village. The young ambassador of **Hi no Kuni**, who is said to be in the village at this very moment, will grace Konoha this year with his presence. Just one more month till the half day event."

Urahara then thought aloud, "The ambassador of the country…not too far off from the noble houses of Sereitiei. Looks like a lot of important people need to be protected."

The wild haired blonde then looked at the sky and saw that it was nearing sunset. He decided to leave for now and bring in his haul back to the Namikaze House. Fully dressed once more, he took his large bag on his shoulders and left through the front entrance. But seeing as he still had time to linger for a while, he took one last look at the springs. When he did, he saw a strange man in a kabuki hakama seated in front of a wall, giggling away. The man had rough but long white hair tied in a low ponytail at the back with a horned hitai-ate that had the kanji for oil on it on his forehead. He wore sandals reminiscent of a tengu and face paint in red tears streaming from his eyes as the man scribbled away on a small notebook while the large scroll on his back hung loosely.

Urahara then approached the man and said, "I guess this is the only form of entertainment left for old guys like us eh?"

The perverted man then turned around and quickly summoned a large orange toad that sent its long tongue at Urahara. Not one to be put down, the wild haired blonde then leaped back and landed gracefully on top of the railing post of the small bridge over the hot spring.

The perverted man then raised an eyebrow before smiling and saying, "I completely forgot that I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Who are you?"

Urahara then took of his hat and made a gentleman's bow. "Urahara Kisuke, at your service. Doozo Yoroshiku." He then put his hat back on and asked in a pleasant tone, "So who might you be?"

The man then twirled his hair up as he said, "Thank you for asking!" he then made a ridiculous pose and said, "I am Myouboku Mountain's Monk of the Frog Spirits. The frog hermit!"

Urahara then rubbed his chin before lifting his finger up and said, "Ah! Now I remember! You're the perverted sage of the three saninns: Jiraya the ero-sennin."

Jiraya face vaulted as his summon disappeared. He then hopped back on his feet and said, "How dare you call me that!" he then crossed his arms and mumbled, "Sheesh. People these days have no manners."

Urahara chuckled lightly as he dropped back to the ground and approached Jiraya. "I'm sorry. Naruto-kun kept talking about your perverted ways that it stuck in my head that way. Again, forgive me."

Jiraya faced him with curiosity. "Sounds like your friend knows me. But I've never heard of him." _'Something's not right with this guy. I can only feel a little chakra from him, but he moved as if he was a trained shinobi. And how does he know Minato's son?'_

Urahara then scratched his face and said, "Are… you don't know Namikaze Naruto? His father was your student before he died and became the Third Division's Captain."

Jiraya then sharpened his gaze at the man as he dropped his arms to his sides. "I think we should talk elsewhere."

Jiraya then leaped up on the roof only for Urahara to follow shortly, confirming the sage's suspicions.

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In the Hokage Tower, Sarutobi was staring at a six-year-old boy in red, elegant, traditional japanese robes with short, white wavy hair and was heterochromatic with the left eye green and the right one blue. Beside the boy were his two guards.

On his right was a fat man that looked like he weighed two hundred pounds. He wore a dog's mask and a blue beanie to cover his shaved head. He wore heavy Kevlar armor underneath a red shirt with the kanji for raccoon on it and gray shorts under his large belly. He also wore black shinobi sandals, a gold watch on his left wrist, and a silver ring on the same hand. The only weapons he seemed to carry were a slingshot and a set of knives in different sizes on his belt.

On the left was a black haired young woman who wore traditional shinobi attire in a purple sleeveless yukata with the skirt cut just below her crotch. She wore long, black, hand gloves and stockings of the same color that ended two and a half inches just below her crotch. She wore blue shinobi sandals and although she had her hair styled the way a Yamato Nadeshiko would, her face is unseen by her lizard mask. She didn't carry any weapons but rather had a huge scroll diagonally harnessed on her back via rope.

The old Hokage weighed the negotiations given to him and thought deeply about what he needed to do in order for the request the young boy presented to be valid and accepted. The old warrior then said, "I'm afraid we cannot allow open entry into Konoha once the Chunin Exams begin for security reasons…Hikaru-san."

The female guard suddenly barked, "That's Ittousei Hikaru-sama to you! Show respect!"

Sarutobi was taken aback by her words until the young boy raised his hand and chuckled.

Hikaru then answered, "Don't mind tokage-san. She's just looking out for me. But are you sure we can't allow freedom for the villagers and outsiders to come and go?"

Sarutobi then furrowed his brow and replied, "No. We cannot compromise security for freedom of passage when the Daimyos and the Kazekage are involved. More so if there is an ambassador such as your self."

Hikaru then looked to the ceiling as he said, "I guess it does make sense, but now how could we show our village to the world?"

The male guard then replied, "Uh…Hikaru-sama, this is a hidden village."

Hikaru sweatdropped and laughed. Sarutobi shook his head and think, _'He's just like the old Naruto.'_

Hikaru then pointed at Sarutobi and said, "We will withdraw for today. But by the end of the month we will convince you to have an open door policy during that day. You have no idea just how much people we can help and strength we can gain with that policy."

Hikaru then politely bowed in unison with his guards before leaving. Sarutobi wiped his brow and thought, _'I need to retire soon. I was about to give in back there to that child.'_

He then looked at the sky and thought out loud, "I guess it's time for me to pass the torch. Sadly my successors are either biologically young and idealistic or old and realistic."

As he was thinking, Ichigo entered the room and said, "Sorry to bother you. Are you busy?"

Sarutobi then turned around to see the young man in jeans, white sneakers and a plain white shirt. Ichigo then said, "It's been a while Jiji."

Sarutobi made a weak smile at the comment. "Unfortunately I don't remember anything that happened in the past. Hopefully, I'll live long enough to reminisce."

Ichigo then walked towards his desk and marveled at the amount of paperwork. "Sugoi… This is a lot of work. More than what I have to do at the hospital." (Sugoi in this case means terrible.)

Sarutobi replied, "Running a village is much harder than a hospital. But now I'm curious of your life Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo rubbed his nape and said, "Life isn't easy these days. I was an irregular until I finally earned stable working hours. Even then, all this happened."

Sarutobi replied, "I would love to hear more but that would take away precious time."

Ichigo's face sharpened slightly into seriousness. "Jiji, Oto nins are pouring in from the country to the north. But I'm more worried about the hollows. They've found this world already and might come back for more. We're ready to fight them but everyone else might get caught in it."

Sarutobi then sighed and said, "Unfortunately we can't spare any more. Our forces are too thin so it will be difficult. And there's that ambassador that's pushing for an open door policy on Konoha during the Final Exam."

Ichigo replied, "If that's the case, then we have our work cut out for us. I need to go so I'll see you if something comes up."

With that, Ichigo quietly walked out of the room leaving Sarutobi to his work while elsewhere a certain lazy blonde and perverted hermit landed in a small clearing.

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Jiraya sat on the ground of the forest, smoking on his pipe. He made a puff on it and said, "I want to have an encounter with a sexy babe that will send my heart aflame."

Urahara sighed and said, "I thought you wanted to talk to me about something?"

Jiraya replied, "We have all the time to talk but an old man doesn't have much longer to find a hot and sexy babe to—"

Urahara suddenly cut in. "Not in my world. There are plenty of women who'll do anything for some time alone."

Jiraya replied, "So what do you need?"

Urahara comically replied, "To be the knight in shining armor off to save the princess!"

Jiraya chuckled and made a devious smile. "I can do better than that! I can give you a knight who is a princess!"

Urahara then pulled out a small gourd from his hakama and said, "So let's celebrate!"

Jiraya then raised his hand. "Choto matte kudasai." (Please wait a minute.)

Urahara then smiled and said, "Eh? I thought we had an agreement?"

But then Naruto entered the scene and said, "Urahara-san, did you get everything?" But when he saw **whom** he was sitting beside, he then said, "Don't tell me you've been hanging out with ero-sennin all this time?"

Jiraya crossed his arms and said, "Hmph. So you're the guy who's been calling me a pervert."

Naruto then replied, "Well you are one—Past, present, and future. Since I'm here already, can I make a deal with you?"

Jiraya replied, "You're friend already made a deal. But my services don't come cheap."

Naruto then said, "Let me guess, you want a sexy babe to set your heart aflame."

Jiraya then cocked an eyebrow with confidence and said, "You know me very well. I swear that I will do whatever you need **if** you can help me."

Naruto then pulled out his GPS from his pocket and dialed away. Jiraya was curious of the device until Naruto said over it, "Yoruichi-san, I found him. I'm no good with this guy so could you—?"

Naruto then nodded and thanked her on the phone. He then faced Jiraya and said, "There's a river nearby so I'll bring her over there." He then leaped through the forest and disappeared without a trace.

The two biologically older men then brushed past the forest and sat at the bedrock shore side of the river. It didn't take long for the young blonde to arrive with a black cat. Jiraya was about to comment until Naruto said to the cat, "It would be easier to talk if you transformed."

The black cat glowed with a bright blue light before changing shape into a naked, dark- skinned woman with purple hair in a high ponytail and yellow eyes. Jiraya was more than pleased. His eyes bulged out as his nose started bleeding a waterfall over his jaw-dropped mouth.

Urahara on the other hand didn't seem phased by his friend's naked form. Naruto was a different story as he had his hitai-ate over his eyes.

Yoruichi placed her hands on her hips as she sat down Indian-style and asked, "So what's new? This guy a friend of yours?"

Naruto nodded and then faced Jiraya. "Ero-sennin, I did what you asked. So will you help us?"

Yoruichi looked a bit confused. Urahara then said, "Naruto and I agreed that if we get him to see a beautiful woman, he'd help us out."

Yoruichi replied, "Soo desu ka?" (Is that so?) She then had a devious smile on her face as she approached Naruto and pulled up his hitai-ate causing him to blush because his eyes wandered a little too low. The devious woman pouted and started drawing circles on his chest with her finger as she said, "Ehhh, but you never wanted to see me. After all the things we've been through, a little peek won't hurt." She then grinned deviously making the young blonde fluster as he tried to crawl backwards but ended up falling on his back causing Yoruichi to sit on top of him in a very compromising position.

Jiraya burned the image into his mind and quickly pulled out his notebook and wrote faster than Kira with a Death Note. He didn't hesitate to pour all sorts of ideas until he kept the notebook and gave Naruto a thumbs-up and said, "YOSH! YOU PASS! I LOVE YOU!"

Naruto then managed to scoot away behind Urahara as Yoruichi made the victory sign with a confident smile.

She then said, "Heh. That trick never fails." She then reverted back to her cat form, saddening Jiraya into anime tears until he got another brilliant idea and wrote some more in his notebook making him the first author in that world to think of 'furry love' and nekomimi.

When the jokes died down, they got to business and Naruto revealed everything Jiraya needed to know at the moment which pretty much was the invasion of Oto and Suna, a subverted version of the elemental gods and the attempt on the Hokage's life. The perverted sage didn't press anything further than what he could comprehend and took everything in stride since he did travel for a long time.

Jiraya replied, "Wakata. But getting Tsunade here isn't going to be easy. Knowing her, she'd do everything to get out of _anything_ involving Konoha."

Naruto then said, "Why not challenge her? I bet she'd do it if it was a gamble."

Jiraya replied, "For what? The defense of the village? She could care more about her looks than the village she came from _or _her country."

Naruto then said, "I can't say that it's for sure. Who knows what will happen while I'm gone."

Yoruichi then said, "Daijoubu. I'll go with Jiraiya and pick her up. It won't take long to find her." she then faced Urahara and said, "Kisuke-kun…"

Urahara wiped sweat from his brow when he said, "I haven't heard that in a while."

She then continued. "You should finish up that shield generator and reiatsu generator. Can't slack off right now."

Urahara tipped his hat as he took his bag and left while humming away. Naruto then said, "I guess that means I've got practically nothing to do for the entire month."

Before the young blonde could get up and leave, Jiraya said, "Matte." (Wait.) He then gazed in examination of the young blonde and said, "You're the spitting image of him. How long have you known?"

Naruto smiled and said, "I didn't just know. I've met him." A slight breeze passed by and Naruto faded away into the direction of the wind.

Jiraya then huffed, "Kid's got style. But now he's got me interested. Looks like I have something to come back for after all." With that, he then marched off with Yoruichi. Of course he followed close behind her towards the Hokage Tower, as the view was much better that way.

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Kakashi took a sip from a cup of coffee as he sat by a table in the back room of the shop, stacked with hundreds of tapes. Across him sat Mizore who was also drinking some coffee and Kwago beside her with a serious face.

The silver haired jounin then said, "So you originated from an island in Mizu no kuni and married a Konoha shinobi and lived here until Kyuubi ravaged your village just before it got close to Konoha. And now both of you are back here in our village." The two Akayashis nodded. Kakashi then said, "Well that's one favor down. So what about the Kekei Genkai? I didn't quite understand it. Could you clarify it for me?"

Mizore then replied,"It is called **Fumetsu no senshi** in your language. But in ours, we called it **Waray**. For every enemy we behead, we gain their lifeblood that contains their greatest source of chakra, which are signified by the bands that form on our bodies. The lifeblood grants us their otherwise remaining lifespan, and gives us accelerated healing due to stronger vitality. We can still die… it's just that it takes more than mere flesh wounds to destroy us. And as we live, the bands, one after the other, slowly grow smaller until they disappear indicating the end of a life. We live off borrowed time so the more enemies we behead, the longer _we_ live and the stronger we get because of _our_ strong constitution. This also means we don't age unless all our bands are gone and we live on our original lifespan."

Kakashi then said, "I've never heard of this Kekei Genkai before."

Kwago then said, "That's because you're not supposed to. The island we hail from is protected by a magical barrier that hides our presence from the world. Kirigakure isn't too keen on leaving valuable soldiers alone. Especially if they found out about our history."

Kakashi looked at him with curiosity. "Really? Is it that important?"

Kwago then said, "Have you ever heard of the Five Elemental gods?" Kakashi shook his head making Kwago's job all the more harder. Kwago then continued. "Well, they are the rulers in charge of the elements of the world. One of them was sealed away in our island." Kakashi listened intently at this point as Kwago continued his story…

IAI--IAIIAI--IAI

"The **Waray **bloodline started from an age old story about a young and proud warrior named Aguilar. He wanted to become the strongest warrior in the universe and set out towards the throne room of the great and powerful water dragon, Seiryu. When he found the dragon, he asked him the secret to becoming strong, but Seiryu refused to talk to him until it made the man angry.

Aguilar then challenged him in a battle for the secrets and Seiryu continued to refuse, telling him 'You won't survive if you fight me,' but the warrior charged and fought anyway. He fell several times and despite a badly beaten up and broken body, he fought hard and still refused to give up.

Seiryu eventually relented, in honor of the strong-willed warrior, and made a cut on his arm to serve as a symbol of the man's courage, persistence, and perseverance. 'You have already achieved true strength. Your will to fight and never give up is your answer. I will spare your life by giving you some of my blood as a covenant of your strength and its source.'

The dragon then cupped his blood in his other hand and let the warrior drink. Aguilar was fully healed because of the pact and ever since then became the first **Waray** and ancestor of all with the **Waray** bloodline."

IAI--IAIIAI--IAI

Kakashi had finished his cup of coffee while absorbed into the tale that Kwago shared. The old warrior then stood up and said, "I better go run the store if you don't mind." As he began to walk away, he smiled to himself, _'Not to mention leave my daughter with my future son-in-law.'_

Mizore then took out a lollipop and dipped it in her half full cup and used it as a stirrer. While she stirred the drink, she then said, "Pretty far-fetched, eh?"

Kakashi replied, "It's quite amazing. But one more question…" Mizore paid close attention at this point leaving Kakashi to ask, "How old are you?"

Mizore blushed a bit and then answered, "Are you planning on asking me out?"

Kakashi then looked to the side and said, "No. Just wondering in particular."

Mizore then smiled and said, "Well, I'm as old as this village…maybe older since I lost count some time ago. Otou-san is older than me by at least three millennia."

Kakashi's visible eye turned into a saucer as his mind tried to wrap around the idea that she's that old and that her father was older than most of the trees in the forest. Mizore then giggled a bit and patted his shoulder twice as she said, "I know. I'm weird that I'd forget my own age. But when you live that long, you forget things."

Kakashi then asked, "You lost count? But the village was founded nearly a hundred years ago. How can you live…"

Mizore rolled up both her sleeves showing nine identical bands on her arms. "Although I have eighteen now, I used to have more back in the day. Tattoos don't look good on me but when you have a life like I do, you tend to find trouble wherever you go. That's why I lived for so long. As long as I keep fighting, I keep living."

Kakashi then said, "But to kill in order to live longer, that's sad."

Mizore then said, "Yes, well people come and go but it's part of life and I've come to accept that. I hope you don't mind but I have some work to do. I'll make it up to you with the tape."

Kakashi then walked out of the back room leaving her to clean up the mess. As he was about to exit the front door, he then said to Kwago, "Well I got more than I bargained for. But to fight to live seems very tiring."

Kwago then replied, "Not as tiring after each kill. Sometimes, a warrior fueled by strong emotions comes by and when we kill them, we gain their memories along with their lifeblood and the emotions they were filled with. It can make you go insane if you don't have what it takes to push it aside. It can even corrupt you and turn you into a demon since you feel the crushing of flesh and bone in your hands and the emotions that come with it. Mizore faced the full brunt of that when she took part in several wars. Not one of which were her choice. She… _we_ lost… a lot of friends there."

Kakashi felt downtrodden by those words. He remembered Obito, Rin, and his sensei: the fourth Hokage. He then left with a heavy heart and reminiscent mind, eventually deciding to visit Ichiraku Ramen to think about everything that had happened recently.

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Ishida was on his way back to the Namikaze compound with Inoue. The orange-haired girl had earned a few admirers in the hospital; some of which where doctors. Though Ishida wasn't interested in her in that respect, she was still his friend and he needed to look out for her.

Suddenly, Inoue stopped right in the middle of the market district. Ishida then asked, "What's wrong?"

Inoue then pouted and said, "Hinata-san was really depressed when her father found that she lost to Neji-kun. I really feel bad for her."

Ishida adjusted his glasses and said, "The best we can do is bring her flowers to cheer her up. It's what my father used to do when he worked as a doctor before running the hospital."

Inoue then faced him and smiled brightly with her hands behind her back. Ishida wondered what was going through her head this time until she pumped her fist and held her right bicep with her left hand.

"Yosh!" she said. "Let's get her some flowers and some new clothes. Her old ones were badly torn after that fight."

Ishida replied, "Iie." Inoue then replied in confusion, "Nan de?"

Ishida then smiled as the light shined on his glasses. He then turned around and crossed his arms trying to look cool as he said, "Why should we buy a new set of clothes if I can repair hers?"

Inoue then laughed and said, "That's even better."

With a goal in mind, the two entered a flower shop and saw several livid and alive plants that have just bloomed. They were all freshly cut and arranged with the utmost care. At the counter of the shop stood Ino, lazily reading a magazine.

When the blonde girl heard footsteps, she monotonously said without looking, "Irashaimasen. Kono wa Yamanaka Hanaya." (Welcome. This is the Yamanaka Flower Shop.)

"Kiree. They look much healthier than the ones at home." Inoue said as she browsed through the shop. Ishida then briefly said to her, "I'll be at the arts and crafts store. I need to buy some thread for the blouse."

Inoue then faced him and nodded allowing him to walk out. Ino then allowed her chin to rest on her left hand as she asked Inoue, "Are you sure about leaving your boyfriend alone?"

Inoue then faced her and said, "Iie. He's not my boyfriend. He's a really good friend of mine." She then went closer to the counter and said as she smiled, "I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. Hajimemashte. Orihime Inoue to mooshimasu. Doozo yoroshiku." (Hello there. I'm Orihime Inoue. Pleased to meet you.)

Inoue then bowed slightly in respect.

Ino then waved her right hand dismissively and said, "It's no problem. I'm Yamanaka Ino." The blonde girl then bowed politely in return. But in the back of her mind, she thought, _'What's with this woman? Her very presence suddenly bugs me and I feel like getting out of here.'_

Ino then asked, "So what sort of flower are you looking for?"

Inoue then thought for a moment before saying, "Something to cheer up a friend at the hospital."

Ino then approached a certain bouquet of yellow colored flowers and said, "Here. Nothing like sunflowers to cheer up a friend."

Inoue then took the flowers and said, "Hinata…it's perfect for her. Arigato." (Here, she's implying the meaning of the name, which is, 'Facing the sun.')

Ino's eyes widened with what she heard. "You know Hinata?"

Inoue replied, "I'm the nurse in charge of her at the hospital. She's been depressed about her loss in the preliminary matches."

Ino replied, "That's really nice of you. Oh wait, now I remember! You were there as Haku-kun explained the rules and regulations."

Inoue then smiled and said, "Hai. I was a bit shocked when Naru—I mean—I was told to be the medic on short notice."

Ino then replied, "Naru? Who's that? You're not talking about Naruto right?"

Inoue then laughed nervously and said, "Ah, nan de mo nai." (It's nothing.) "Anyway, here's the money I owe you."

Ino then took the money from the other girl's hand and said, "Matte. Do you know Naruto by the way? I was wondering if you knew him."

Inoue replied, "Well, I don't really know him. But Hinata-san talks a lot about him. She really loves that boy from what I hear from her."

Ino then said, "Oh. Sorry for the trouble. Thank you and please come again."

Inoue then nodded and stepped through the door. But she suddenly went in again and said, "Oh, and by the way, you should eat less curry. You've been eating a bowl of curry in the barbeque restaurant for lunch for the past three days so your skin is getting a little yellow. Doctor's orders." With that, Inoue walked out leaving a stunned and frantic Ino who quickly took the mirror under the counter and looked and saw she was right.

Chouji then entered the store and said, "Hey Ino, Asuma-sensei is looking for us. What's up with you?"

Ino then gazed hard at Chouji and said, "Chouji, that orange haired nurse came in. She's no ordinary nurse."

Chouji then said, "You're still at it?"

Ino replied, "That's not important. What _is…_is that she's sharper than she looks. She knew exactly what I've been eating and for how long and where just from a first glance. Only a skilled medical shinobi can do that. But what's strange is that her hands are not just the hands of a medic, but also of a soldier. There are calluses on her palms in a way you would hold a knife and something else."

Chouji then asked, "What do you mean something else?"

Ino then said, "Hmm…her left hand has calluses from holding a knife." She then held an imaginary knife on her left hand. "But she's holding something else at the same time from the look of her palm. And her right hand has strange calluses. Like she was holding something like this." She then fumbled with her right hand a bit before finally getting a good imprint on the figure. She raised her right hand and held an imaginary gun with the pointer resting on where the trigger would be. Though she didn't understand what was supposed to be in the right hand, she knew it wasn't an ordinary object.

Chouji on the other hand didn't quite understand what he was looking at and said, "The one on the right hand doesn't make sense to me."

Ino then said, "Me neither. But that girl…I just don't get it. She looked like a complete idiot."

Chouji then said, "I guess you were wrong this time." _'That's funny. Ino's rarely wrong about people. The only one she makes mistakes with is Naruto.'_

Ino and Chouji were perplexed by the strange new people in Konoha but struck it as a mere oddity that the village was known for. When they met Shikamaru and Asuma at the training area, the two told their third wheel the entire incident. Shikamaru filed it away in his head for further usage.

After Inoue and Ishida got what they needed, the two then escaped the bustling city and into the Namikaze Home. Everyone was there with the exceptions of Urahara and Yoruichi. Though the night was young for some, but for these people, it was a tiring day and they needed to rest and replenish for the next one.

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It was the third day and Sakura was bored to death. But what kept her preoccupied were her thoughts on Sasuke and her unrequited feelings for him. She traveled aimlessly down the street as she remembered the harsh words of Sasuke that day on the preliminaries. What made it even worse was that after the preliminaries, Sasuke was brought into the hospital along with Hinata and Lee.

She walked far enough until she reached a flower shop and thought, _'I think they'll allow visitors now. Maybe I should bring him flowers when I visit.'_

Ufortunately, it was at the Yamanaka Flower Shop that she ended up in. She frowned seeing Ino's predatory glare that any gossip girl had.

Ino said from over the counter, "It's quite rare for you to come buy flowers at our place."

Sakura retored, "Not really. It's rare for you to be in charge of the store as well."

Ino then said, "These days I'm always in charge. Asuma-sensei said it helps by teaching me to read people's intentions. And he was right for once."

Sakura then knelt in front of some potted plants with a smile on her face. Ino then moved to her side and said, "When you bring flowers that still have a root, people complain about it growing. That's why cut flowers are commonly chosen."

Sakura blushed and denied anything but Ino persisted and said, "Don't play dumb. There's no use in playing dumb. You're planning to visit Sasuke-kun aren't you?"

Sakura looked at her as if she was crazy. But Ino, acting quickly yelled, "Okaa-san, I'm going to leave for a while."

Sakura tried to protest but Ino made her decision. Ino then picked one rose while Sakura picked two daffodils. Ino then asked, "Two? One is enough."

Sakura replied, "One is for Lee-san too."

Ino understood and the two walked towards the hospital until they stopped and saw over the window of a barbeque shop, Anko, seated beside Asuma and Haku across them.

The two girls gaped at the amount of food that Haku was putting away with ease and a seemingly perpetual smile. Even Asuma was dumbfounded upon the unnatural ability of the teen.

Asuma then asked, "Anko, is he always like this?"

Anko cheekily replied, "What's the fuss? He's a growing boy. He needs all that energy. Right, Haku?"

Haku then nervously replied, "Ha-hai. I guess so." _'I wonder what she meant by growing boy…oh no, I think I'm getting corrupted with all the weird noises she makes at night.'_ The young bishounen continued scarfing down the food in order to drown away the evil thoughts.

Sakura sweatdropped and said, "I've never seen anyone eat like that except maybe Chouji on one occasion. He sure is something ne…" but when she looked at Ino, she backed away and saw the hearts in Ino's eyes.

Ino then said, "Even though he's got the appetite of Chouji, he's still so sexy in doing it!"

Sakura shook her head and asked, "Asuma-sensei, isn't Shikamaru a participant in the Chunin Exams?"

Asuma replied, "Ya but he said he wanted to do some research before he begins training."

Anko then nudged him with her elbow and said, "So you finally got to beat some sense into that kid eh?"

Asuma replied, "No, he decided it for himself. He must be trying to learn some new jutsu and battle strategies to fight in the upcoming exam. After seeing what Naruto did, he finally has motivation."

Sakura then said, "Naruto was amazing back there. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it." _'Even Naruto was much stronger than me. For once, he's shown a bit more of himself and now I don't know who he really is.'_

Sakura then grabbed Ino by the shoulders and said, "We have to go Asuma-sensei. I'll see you guys in the finals." She then pulled Ino away and towards the hospital much to Ino's chagrin.

Haku finally managed to finish his meal by the time Sakura spoke and then said, "Hmm…Naruto-kun has shown so much strength lately." Asuma and Anko listened in as Haku said, "From **Kanashibari no jutsu **to that ability to go faster than **shunsin**. He's a complete mystery to me."

The two older shinobis were surprised. Since when did genin level shinobis know of an ANBU level jutsu? And the ability to move faster than **shunsin**…something was awfully suspicious about that.

Anko became serious and asked her charge, "How do you know that?"

Haku quickly responded before the next mouthful, "I saw him use it once. I don't know what else he knows but he must be really powerful."

Anko smirked and said, "Damn that Kakashi. He's got an Uchiha and a powerhouse."

While they were enjoying their meal, a really hungry Ichigo and a seemingly confused Rukia occupied the seats behind Haku.

Ichigo then said as he gazed at the sizzling sukiyaki cut strips, "Finally! It's been a long time since I ate at a barbeque."

Rukia then said, "It's my first time being here. So we cook our own meals?"

Ichigo replied as he flipped overstrips of meat, "That's right, you've never eaten here before. Before okaa-san died, we would eat at a barbeque restaurant once a year. I always ended up fighting against Karin for the food back then."

Rukia then rubbed her belly and thought, _'It sounds like fun to have a family you can eat with. Even at the Kuchiki Manor we ate alone.'_

Ichigo then began stuffing his face with his meal until he saw Rukia's slightly distant gaze. "What's wrong? Are you remembering something?"

Rukia then said, "A little. I should bring Oni-sama to this place so that we can eat like a family."

Ichigo then snorted and said, "A place like this wouldn't suit him. He'd probably say, 'I don't waste my time with people who are beneath me.' or something like that."

Rukia then protested, "Oni-sama isn't like that! He'll definitely enjoy it here."

Ichigo then said, "We'll its no use if you haven't tried it yourself. Here-" he then picked up a sliver of meat with his chopsticks and placed some on Rukia's plate. Rukia then ate it and blushed in joy.

Rukia then said, "Oishi. So many possibilities with just cooking meat."

Ichigo then said, "Hopefully we'll still be able to eat like this when we have a family."

Rukia then lowered her head a little and said, "I'm sorry. I should do better next time and make sure."

Ichigo then blushed and looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. When the coast was clear, he then said, "It's not your fault. Even Unohana-san said she can't understand why we can't have children even though there's nothing wrong with us."

Rukia then said, "Daijobu. I'll find a way to so that we can have what you had."

Ichigo replied, "Let's just eat and forget it right now." But before he could make another bite, he remembered something. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to put the ring on." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver ring with a small engraving of a rabbit on it. But as he was about to wear it, he fumbled and nearly dropped it into the mini grill. Good thing he had quick reflexes with his chopsticks. Unfortunately the ring was so close to the heat that it started to conduct it. It traveled up and began to burn Ichigo's hand, causing him to release the ring in bitter defeat.

Rukia then said, "Ichigo! Why did you drop it?"

Ichigo then said, "Well it was hot so it fell."

Rukia then started beating his head with a paper harisen and said, "This wouldn't happen if you had worn it in the first place."

Ichigo retorted, "Who'd wanna wear a ring with a rabbit carved on it?"

Rukia then said, "That's not important. Besides, it's a cute rabbit."

Ichigo and Rukia argued stubbornly making Asuma sweatdrop and say, "A lover's quarrel. Makes me wonder if I should have a family."

Anko then lazily replied, "If you're talking about Kurenai, then she'll be happy to help you there."

Haku blushed at Anko's innuendo while Asuma denied his relationship with the genjutsu mistress.

Despite the happy talks about relationships, one person had unrequited feelings for someone dear to her as her best friend walked beside her in the halls of the hospital with a nurse ahead of them, clipboard in hand.

The nurse then said, "You have five minutes. I cannot permit more than that. He still needs to stay in bed." The three girls then arrived at the door and the nurse knocked before she opened the door saying, "Sasuke-kun, you have guests. Two cute girls."

But when they entered, all they saw were piles of old scrolls and books neatly piled up beside his now empty bed with two really old documents and a notebook and pen on top.

The nurse dropped her clipboard and quickly searched the closet. It was empty except for the hangers on the furnished rack.

"His clothes are gone." The nurse said. "This is bad. Even though he was going to be released tomorrow morning, he'll strain himself if he went out now." The nurse then ran out to get the doctor.

Sakura and Ino then looked at the small pile of research material. Ino then asked, "What was Sasuke-kun looking for?"

Sakura replied, "He took Naruto's challenge seriously. After seeing all that Naruto was doing, he must be pushing himself to reach him."

Ino then looked at the two old documents on his bed and read them. Her eyes widened and she then said, "Sakura! You should see this."

Sakura then looked and read the documents. Her eyes widened in surprise as she said, "What the? What is this? I've never heard of this. He only said that they were the souls of the dead that would journey into the afterlife."

Ino then asked, "What do you mean?"

Sakura then replied, "We saw a hell butterfly once and Naruto said that it was the souls of the dead that would journey into the afterlife and that they are an omen of death. But this changes everything."

Ino then asked, "So the kunai, it was part of the jutsu of the yondaime hokage according to this document. And Naruto knows of it despite the fact that it was never recreated again."

Sakura then replied, "That doesn't make sense. If it died along with him, how did Naruto learn it?" she then picked up the notebook and read it, page by page. Every page showed his neat handiwork and the organized research he performed, taking things step by step until he reached the last entry on the page where he made his conclusion:

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Uzumaki Naruto…no, Namikaze Naruto isn't what he says.

Hell butterflies are also the aid of the shinigami according to the paper on the old poem.

It doesn't make sense that he knows how to use **Hiraishin no jutsu** and improve it. But the hell butterfly is a key to his jutsus and existence according to this document. The old poem says about the spiritual world being vastly different from our own and that the spirits would come and go with ease between worlds with the hell butterfly as the guide. It sounds absurd. But I have a hunch that the shinigami is a reason for his powers and that he somehow has a connection. The hell butterfly is proof of this. If it is right, then Naruto has entered a place that no human has entered before.

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Sakura then closed the notebook and said, "Ino, I'll go look for Kakashi-sensei. Please give the other flower to Lee for me." she then took the two documents and ran off leaving a worried Ino.

Ino then thought, _'Sakura…Sasuke-kun, something big is going to happen, I just know it.'_

Sakura was about to leave the hospital until she glimpsed out the corner of her eye, Lee doing one-handed pushups and Hinata, in her regular attire except for the jacket which was a sky blue instead, watching with a worried look on her face.

Sakura then rushed to the scene as Lee fell down on his face with Hinata turning him over.

"Lee-san!" the pink haired girl shouted as Lee panted hard. Hinata then said, "Lee-san, please don't push yourself anymore. You will fall apart."

Lee, with a raspy voice said, "I won't give up. I will work hard and prove them that I can be a ninja. It's no use working hard if you don't believe in yourself."

Sakura then knelt down beside Hinata and had a sad look on her face. "Hey, Hinata-chan…"

Hinata then looked at Sakura. The pink haired girl then asked, "Why do boys push themselves so hard?"

Hinata then said, "Because they have something they want and will not stop until they get it. But even though I'm a girl, deep inside, I think the same way too."

Sakura then said, "You're so different from me. I just don't understand how you can think that way."

Hinata shook her head and said, "Although I work hard, it's no good. I always failed because I didn't have the same courage as Lee-san and everyone else."

Sakura then said, "It's okay. We all fail sometimes. But we don't have to push if we can't get it."

Hinata looked at the exhausted Lee and thought, _'I wish I could. But in the end, no one acknowledged me…If only I were stronger…no, even then it isn't enough. I should fight on and believe but…'_

Suddenly, she heard a deep voice say, _"__**wake up."**_

Hinata was shocked and looked around for the voice but then realized that time stood still. She then looked in front of her and saw a ghost of a black cracked egg. The egg then spoke, _"__**you are not a failure. You were acknowledged so stop crying."**_

Hinata felt the sharp words in her soul. She remembered all the times her father scolded her and was about to retort until the egg said, _"__**Just because you are suffering doesn't mean you should give up. You must struggle even more and suffer more. But never run away. Even if it's painful, pressuring you and drowning you, you must arise like a phoenix. When that time comes, you will be even more powerful."**_

Hinata was timid when she spoke, "But I couldn't really help at all and ended up making things worse. I'm still so weak."

The egg then spoke. _"__**You are not weak. You are just beginning to grow stronger. You will realize everything I said when you get stronger and realize your surroundings. Though you have a vision to see it, you're like a lost prophet…always seeing the truth and refusing to acknowledge it as real in your life. Ignore the destiny that torments you and wake up. In the end, laugh at its face the way that boy is doing."**_

Hinata then thought, _'That's right…I mustn't forget why I am fighting in the first place. I love being a shinobi. I love being with Naruto-kun and all my friends. I love fighting even if it is dangerous and frightening. I will believe so that I can reach the same sky that Naruto-kun is in. I won't give up and simply believe.'_

The egg then glowed in a silver light and cracked further until cracks were all over the shell. It then disappeared allowing time to return. Hinata then said to Sakura, "I won't give up."

Sakura was surprised. Hinata then took off her blue jacket revealing her black undershirt, and placed the jacket on top of Lee. The Hyuuga heiress then said, "Arigato Lee-san. I finally understand what your dream is. I've made my decision. And I will keep believing."

Soon a nurse came in and took Lee to his room leaving Sakura and Hinata alone in the yard. Sakura then said, "Hinata-chan, are you alright?"

Hinata replied, "Hai. In fact, I feel much better now. I'm going to see Kurenai-sensei. Even though I lost the match, I will keep on training. Someday, I'll get there with everyone else."

Sakura then said, "You really are something Hinata. I don't feel like losing anymore."

With that they parted ways and Hinata went to train with Kurenai while Sakura returned with Ino back at their respective homes.

Though they didn't know it, Sasuke was training by the cliffs with Kakashi. The raven-haired boy then lifted his right arm and aimed his pointer and middle finger at a rock with a three-pronged kunai stuck to it and said, "**Hado number four, byakurai!**"

But what came out was a spark of static electricity that zapped him back, causing him to fall down from the shock and exhaustion of doing it more than once.

Kakashi then said, "Maybe if you wait long enough, you might be able to copy his jutsu with your **Sharingan**."

Sasuke then got up and thought, _'I won't lose to him. I'll find the secret and learn how to do it. I'll get stronger and surpass him __**and Him**__.'_

Kakashi then said, "Well you can work on it later. First, I will teach you how to do my original jutsu." Sasuke then made a small smile at this prospect. Kakashi then replied, "But only if you rest for now. We have an entire month to finish this so relax and get some rest."

Sasuke then turned around and said, "Don't even try to leave."

He then walked away into the distance to rest. When Sasuke was no longer in range of sight and sound, the silver haired jounin then lifted his hitai-ate and looked at his surroundings with both eyes. He then faced a large rock and aimed his right hand at it and said, "**Dissintegrate, Roddanni's black dog! Read, Burn, and Devour your own Throat! Bakudo number nine, Geki!"**

A small flash of red light flew from his hand and smashed the rock. But incidentally, Kakashi flew back as well and fell on his back. The jounin then said, "Looks like I'm not the only one who can do that." He tried to get up but his body refused and he felt exhaustion take over causing him to faint from the endeavor.

Three more days have passed and still no sign of Sand or Sound movement in Konoha. Everyone was at peace at the moment. Naruto walked down the path to the hospital to visit his friend Lee who he found out was still there. Beside him was Ichigo in his human form.

It had been a while since the two saw each other but given the circumstances, they see each other roughly everyday. Naruto then said to Ichigo, "So you've been kicked out of your room for losing the ring?"

Ichigo nodded. Naruto then said, "That sucks. But then again, I can't see Hinata at the moment either. She's been training without interruption and I'm worried."

Ichigo then said as the two arrive at the hospital, "I can understand though. She really wants to get stronger so that she can fight alongside you."

Naruto replied as they entered the doors, "I want to help her but, she told me that she wants to learn on her own so that she can stand on her own. All I can do now is support her."

Naruto then asked the attendant the room of Lee and was given the room number. Ichigo then went into the staff's locker room and changed into a doctor's attire to look for Ishida and Inoue who had been taking the doctor role a little too seriously. But considering their backgrounds, it was to be expected.

Naruto was down the halls and up the stairs into the hallway where Lee would be until he saw Shikamaru in the same hallway. The young blonde then said, "Not expecting to see you here."

Shikamaru turned around and said, "Why are you here?"

Naruto replied, "I'm here to see fuzzy eyebrows. How about you?"

Shikamaru then said, "I heard from Ino that one of the medic nins in the preliminaries works here and I wanted to find out. I still haven't found the secrets to the kunai."

Naruto then said, "That's too bad. You better hurry if you want to beat Sasuke."

Suddenly, the young blonde felt an all too familiar reiatsu signature that spiked with killing intent. He then remembered why. The young blonde then said, "Shikamaru, where's Lee's room? Something doesn't feel right."

Shikamaru then sniffed the air and said, "I may not have a nose like Kiba but something isn't right. He's up the next floor."

The two boys then ran up the floor as quickly as they could until they reached Lee's room and saw his door slightly opened. They could hear the sound of sand slithering about in the room. Shikamaru then took a peek and performed his jutsu as quickly as possible and caught Garaa in the nick of time before he could crush Lee in his sleep.

The sand jinchuriki then thought, _'My body…won't move.'_

Suddenly, Garaa was punched in the face by a fearless young blonde, causing him to stagger back a bit. But since Shikamaru was using the **Kagemane no jutsu**, he too staggered back and said, "Hey Naruto, when I'm using the **Kagemane no jutsu**, I move along with him. Got it?" _'That one was horrible. For a moment I felt my life span suddenly shorten.'_

Naruto apologized to Shikamaru as Garra's **suna no tate** was corroding away on the side of his face that Naruto punched. It was corroding a lot faster than Garra expected but that wasn't important. Garaa knew that he was in a tight spot but a hardened shinobi like him wasn't fazed one bit as shown by his cold green eyes. However, Gaara's steel gaze could not pierce Naruto's resolve. Naruto then calmly exhaled and said to the redhead, "You tried to do what I think you would've done if someone didn't stop the match. So why do you want him dead? You already won the match."

Gaara then said, "Because I want him dead."

Naruto then replied, "That's selfish. Don't let your inner demon crush you. Shukaku isn't your master. You are."

Gaara then said, "I don't understand. How do you know about me?"

Naruto then said, "It takes a jinchuriki to understand another."

Shikamaru then thought, _'What are they talking about? What is a jinchuriki? Now I'm confused."_

Naruto said, "It doesn't matter that you were treated harshly and lived like you're worth less than crap. You can change. You need to earn their love, by showing yours over and over again till they get sick of it. I know my people did."

Gaara then replied, "Love? Don't measure me by your values. People are just lumps of meat linked by hatred and murderous intent. I stole my mother's life and was created to become the village's masterpiece. And as the Kazekage's son, my father taught me the secrets of ninja techniques. I grew up after being overprotected, spoiled and alone. I thought that was love…until that incident."

Shikamaru asked, "What?"

Naruto then said, "Your father tried to assassinate you several times because he thought the demon inside of you was a threat."

Garra smiled wildly and said, "Yes…that's right. For the past six years he tried and failed."

Shikamaru then said, "But you said that he spoiled you. So what do you mean?"

Gaara then said, "A being that is too strong eventually becomes an embodiment of fear. Since I was born from the usage of a jutsu, my mind was unstable. The idiots in my village finally noticed that my emotions were unpredictable. To the Kazekage…my father, I was the village's trump card. At the same time I was a threat. After I turned six, it seems that they classified me as a dangerous being. I was the village's dangerous tool, but still handled with care. I am only a relic of the past that they want to get rid of. So why do I exist and live? I asked myself that question, but could not find an answer. But I need those reasons while I am still alive or it would be the same as me being dead."

Shikamaru muttered, "What is he talking about?" However, Naruto understood and felt great sorrow for Gaara's loss. He wanted so much to help him but some things need to come at their own pace and he knew that these were one of those times. Naruto patiently listened as his conviction strengthened.

Gaara then continued. "And this is what I concluded. I exist to kill everyone other than me. I finally found relief inside the fear of being assassinated at any time. By killing the assassins, I was able to recognize my reason to live. I fight only for myself, and only love myself. I as long as I think that other people exist to make me feel that, the world is wonderful."

Naruto then said, "That is the most selfish and evil things I have ever heard." Gaara smiled a little but it soon went away when he saw Naruto smile so genuinely. The young blonde then said, "I know how you got there and I understand. But you know what, there is a better way. Tell me, why does the moon have light when only the sun emanates light?"

Gaara couldn't answer so Naruto replied for him. "It has light because the sun provided light for it. No one is perfect. Everyone is just like the moon, looking for light that only the sun provides. Everyone has his or her own pains that show their weaknesses and the darkness in them. But when they do find that light that can change them and set them free, they become like a bright full moon…a light for others to follow. It was the same for me. You are not alone Gaara. There are seven other jinchurikis that share the same fate and more people who are suffering. The reason we wage war, is not because we want to kill all those who hate us, but to achieve peace because the other person is struggling and does not understand. There is no place the light cannot reach. But what we do with that light is what matters most. I won't give up on believing in that light. And I won't give up on you either because I know that deep inside, you still have that light."

Gaara then lowered his head and shut his eyes. He then said, "You are foolish." His sand then flared up and was about to strike the two boys down until Ichigo entered and said, "Stop this right now!"

Gaara stopped and saw the orange haired man in a doctor's attire. Naruto sighed as Gai also entered the scene. Gai then said, "The main matches will be held three weeks from now. There is no need to get hasty. Or do you want to get hospitalized today?"

Gaara was losing his cool at the sight of Gai. Ichigo saw this and was about to act until he saw the sand return to the gourd and Gaara take control once again. Gaara then slowly left the room but not before saying, "I will kill you guys for sure. Just you wait."

When Gaara left, Ichigo then ranted, "Who the hell does he think he is? Ulquiorra? Man that kid is scary." He then went over to check on Lee and saw that the sleeping boy was alright. He then said to the small group in the room, "Let's leave for now. He needs rest."

The small group then left the room and Shikamaru noticed something familiar. _'That doctor looks like the __**bunshin**__ of Naruto's jutsu.'_

Gai then said to the three, "Arigato gozaimashta for protecting Lee. I will never forget this."

Naruto then said, "It's nothing. Oh yeah…" the young blonde then took ot of his pocket a semi transparent, white, round fruit. It looked like glass but was softer to the touch. He then handed the strange fruit to Gai and said, "Lee-san should eat this. It will help him recover. I have a lot of those growing in my house."

Gai then said, "I will make sure to give it to him."

Naruto then said, "I'll be seeing you guys in the finals." With that, he turned around and walked out.

Gai then went to get some refreshments leaving Ichigo with Shikamaru. The lazy genius then asked, "Umm…do you know Namikaze Naruto?"

Ichigo then carelessly said, "Well, kinda."

Shikamaru found his chance and asked, "Did you know that he made a jutsu that involved your image in a black hakama with a giant sword as a weapon?"

Ichigo then said, "I never knew that." He then accidentally mumbled, "It would've been better if he chose Zaraki instead of me being his worst fear. Not to mention Byakuya as the second form."

Shikamaru heard it and then thought, _'So the plot thickened. At least I know this guy HAS a connection with Naruto.' _The lazy genius then said, "You're a doctor right? Do you know a medic nin with glasses, one with long orange hair and a short black haired woman?"

Ichigo got what was going on at this point and said, "There are plenty of people like that here, so, yes." But as the orange haired man was about to turn around, Inoue then came running in and said, "Kurosaki-kun! Daihen! There's a patient who needs to be operated on immediately." Ichigo then ran after her with Shikamaru smiling at what he found.

The lazy genius then thought, _'Bingo. It's all coming together. His name is Kurosaki. That woman he's with is Orihime Inoue according to Ino. And putting it together, he knows the other two and knows Naruto and incidentally Hinata from what I heard. Naruto must know them since he ends up here pretty often ever since the academy. But now things are getting even more mysterious.'_

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A week had passed since the preliminaries. Shikamaru was deep into his research about the three-pronged kunai within his room. Books were everywhere and a lot of instant ramen cups littered the floor. He may be lazy, but he does keep clean so this was something out of the ordinary for him. More so that he was sitting on the floor and from the looks of things, he hasn't moved since dawn.

The lazy genius had a bored expression on his face when he closed the last book and said, "Damn. I didn't think it would be this hard."

The door swung open to reveal his father with the hereditary expression of the Nara Clan…boredom. The man then scratched his head and said, "I think you should clean up this mess. Kaa-san is angry at me for not scolding you about it."

Shikamaru replied, "I will as soon as I'm done."

Shikaku Nara looked at the mess in the room. _'Look at this place. It looks like the codebreaker's office with all the piles of papers and scrolls everywhere. Not even Hokage-sama has this much of a stack. Wait…It's not a stack, it's a small forest of books.'_

Shikaku then knelt down beside his son on the floor and took a peek at what he was reading. "Custom made kunais. Haven't heard of one since the reign of the fourth Hokage."

The lazy genius then looked at his father with surprise written all over his face. He then asked, "Are you saying that the fourth Hokage had custom made kunais?"

Shikaku then pulled out a three-pronged kunai from his holster and said as he showed the kunai, "It was part of the fourth Hokage's infamous jutsu—**Hiraishin no Jutsu**. The jutsu allowed him to instantaneously move from one place to another before you can blink. All you would see is a yellow blur that gave him the nickname, _The Yellow Flash._"

Shikamaru went wide-eyed but refused to comment since his father continued. "But that's not the best part. The jutsu doesn't need handseals to be performed."

Shikamaru then continued the sentence with shock still on his face. "All it needed was the kunai as the anchor for him to travel to. An advanced space-time jutsu." The lazy genius sweatdropped as he thought, _'Why didn't I ask him about this in the first place? Mendokuse…I got lost in my own thoughts that I forgot about outside possibilities.'_

Shikaku then said, "I doubt you'll be able to recreate the jutsu since it was lost with the fourth Hokage. Although I did hear rumors that his master, Jiraya-sama, mastered the other original jutsu of the fourth."

Shikamaru then pulled out a small sheet of paper with the unique seal written on it and showed it to his father. "Otou-san, have you ever seen a seal like this before?"

Shikaku then said, "I'm no archaeologist so, no. It looks like a foreign language."

Shikamaru replied, "It does doesn't it? I barely got to understand it past the line that says, **Viti de Legno sepolte in…**"

Suddenly, Shikaku and Shikamaru then felt an awfully familiar cold chill up their spines that told their barely used brains that the dragon of the family was pissed as hell. And true enough, karma bit them in the butt when she berated them more so than usual. Firstly it was because they didn't come down to show their faces and secondly because Shikamaru acted differently today. The lazy genin, as quickly as his rarely used adrenaline could, ran out of the house with a small notebook in hand.

Shikamaru then thought to himself as he wandered the streets aimlessly, _'The kunai was created by the fourth Hokage during his short reign which included The Great Shinobi Wars in the timeframe. At least I have a lead. But it's too early to celebrate.'_

He then raised his head from his thinking position only for his eyes to meet with a fiery red headed man with his hair in a high ponytail and wore a white bandana on his head. But Shikamaru knew that this man was dangerous from the tattoos on his forehead and his stance despite the gray hooded jacket, brown pants and black boots he wore.

The thuggish looking man then replied with a bored tone, "Move it gaki. And pay attention or you could've bumped into a lamppost."

Shikamaru then sighed. _'This guy's like an adult version of Kiba. At least he's politer.'_

Shikamaru made a lazy pardon and walked a few steps before the man turned around and tapped him on the shoulder. Shikamaru turned around and said, "What now?"

The red head had a faint blush on his face and crossed his arms and looked to the side. He then said with a little arrogance in his voice, "Che. You kids these days don't have a shred of respect. I outta beat some sense into ya."

Shikamaru didn't want to waste time on this guy and opted to turn around but instead asked, "What do you want? I don't have a lot of time on my hands."

The red head then rubbed his face a bit and asked with a straight face, "Um…do you know where the Hokage Tower is?"

The lazy genius then said, "Just go left, make a right turn at the next stop and just past the third dormitory on that street you'll find it. How long have you been here?"

The guy then replied, "More than a week." Shikamaru was about to face fault. He then thought, _'Chikusho. I really want to look at the clouds today. But the guy doesn't look like the bright type.'_

He then escorted the man into the Hokage Tower and into the Hokage's Office where much to Shikamaru's surprise, he saw an orange haired man in a black shirt, jeans and sneakers, an orange haired woman that he knew from Ino's description was Orihime Inoue wearing a purple blouse, gray track pants and shinobi sandals, a shorter, black haired woman wearing a green jacket over a white shirt, a matching skirt, long black socks with brown leather shoes, a black haired man with glasses in all white even a white muffler and a utility belt strapped around his waist with several pouches and steel sticks attached, and a darker skinned man of a different race from what he could tell with messy brown hair, a sleeveless black jacket with red shirt underneath and black jeans along with worker boots.

The orange haired man then said, "What took you so long Renji? Sereitei is bigger than Konoha and you got lost?"

Renji then went up to Ichigo's face and said, "Oi, I didn't get lost! I was busy doing a lot of stuff. And besides, there's too many people and weird buildings, who wouldn't get lost."

Ishida then adjusted his glasses and said, "Baka. You just admitted that you got lost."

Renji was about to argue with him until Rukia cleared her throat and said, "Tonikakun, let's do what we came here for."

Inoue and Chad nodded in reply. Seeing that he was out of place, Shikamaru decided to slink away to the door until the double doors opened to reveal his remaining team members and his sensei.

He was 'thrilled' seeing their faces. Asuma then said, "Eh? So you were here all this time."

Ino then saw Inoue in the same room and felt threatened by her presence. Chouji then walked up to Shikamaru and asked, "Why weren't you at home?"

Shikamaru lazily replied, "I was still doing research."

Before the small talk could move further, Sarutobi cleared his throat, quickly grabbing their attention. He then said, "I have a mission for all of you."

Ino protested. "A mission? Are these guys shinobi?"

The Hokage replied, "Yes, Ino. They will help you with a problem underground."

Ichigo and Shikamaru both asked, "What kind of problem?" this earned looks from both sides and even themselves. But the staredown was cut short when the Hokage cut in by saying, "We've received reports of strange creatures lurking in the sewers and underground passages. One of our own has been attacked but he got out safely and is in the hospital. But psychologically, he's still worn out and kept screaming masked monster with a hole in its heart." Ichigo's team sharpened when they heard this making Team Asuma wary of the other team.

The Hokage then said, "This is a C Rank, reconnaissance mission. If there is anything down there, avoid battle at all cost. We want you all back in one piece. Especially since one of you is part of the Final Exam. Asuma will lead so if there isn't anything else, then you're dismissed."

They politely walked out and headed towards their destination. It didn't take long to reach the sewer entrance since Asuma was familiar with the place for some reason.

They stopped right in front of a large and dark tunnel that was the main sewage pipeline that had a diameter of twelve feet and a foul stench. Sewage water could be seen trickling out into the vat that recycled the water while Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji held their noses in disgust while the rest of the joint team seemed to be immune to the stench.

Ishida then said, "So this is it. This looks like a place that could hide a monster. We'll most likely need to split up at the intersection up ahead."

Ino then said, "So who made you leader?"

Inoue then said, "Ishida-kun, let's just follow them okay? They know more of this place than we do."

Asuma then said, "Alright. Since there's no more arguments, let's head in. It will be dark so we have to stick together. Light up your torches."

All of them took out a torch and lit it up and entered the sewers. They traveled deep inside and Ino and Chouji kept their noses covered. While rats roamed around the ground, Ichigo then said, "A place like this is bound to be big. How far do we go?"

Asuma then said, "According the shinobi's report, it's in the main sewage passageway he saw the monster. Its not that far now so prepare for anything."

Ishida then looked to Rukia and both nodded. Inoue then looked to the two and nodded as well. Chad then grabbed onto Ichigo's shoulder and Ichigo knew what that meant. The orange haired man then stepped in front of Team Asuma and said, "It's near. Follow my lead."

Shikamaru then said, "You seem to know what you're doing. What is this thing anyway?"

Ichigo then crouched and slowly moved forward. The others followed suit and moved as he did till they entered the main intersection. It was like a tall tower with only the wall lamps as the guide to its immense size. Several pipes jut out of the tower with water flowing from them like a waterfall to the open ended pipes that made a metal jungle of the entire room leaving only the center as the only dry place.

Renji then said, "Do you see it?"

Rukia then went over the area near a broken pipe and felt the ground. She then said, "The reiatsu here is fresh. It's confirmed."

Ishida then looked around and said, "The place is crawling with them. How did they get in though?"

Chouji then said, "What are you guys talking about?"

Asuma then asked, "Please explain."

Inoue then said, "We've seen these things before so don't worry about it. Besides, we are just investigating so we won't fight it here unless we are forced to."

But like the way karma does things, the suddenly heard eerie howling sounds coming from all over the place. They looked around, hoping that the source was just the wind or the echo of the vermin that lived in these parts.

They felt the cold chill up their spines that told them they would face many enemies and knew how bad things would get if the enemy had the advantage. Ishida then thought, _'They have the advantage. The Konoha shinobis aren't prepared to fight what they can't see. But we can't fight recklessly either. Every one of these pipes is flowing with water and we would drown if we accidentally destroy any one of them.'_

But before they had time to react, Chad suddenly rushed to Asuma ready to give a right hook. Shikamaru saw this and tried to do some handseals only for Chad to rush by and punch a hollow over Asuma's right shoulder.

The hollow flew back to the wall that wasn't filled with pipes and its imprint could be seen. Team Asuma looked to where Chad punched and saw the imprint on the wall.

Rukia then pulled out two wakizashis from inside her jacket and tossed one to Ichigo and the strawberry shinigami rushed and cut the hollow in half before it could recuperate leaving it to disappear as sparkles of light which Team Asuma was able to see.

Ino then said, "What was that?"

Rukia then said, "That was the monster that was lurking in here. It was about to eat Asuma-dono if Chad and Ichigo didn't stop it."

Chouji then said, "Chad? Ichigo?"

Rukia then said, "I'm sorry. We forgot to introduce ourselves. I am Kurosaki Rukia."

Chad then said, "Yasutora Sado."

Renji then said, "Abarai Renji."

Inoue then said, "Orihime Inoue."

Ishida then said, "Uryuu Ishida."

Ichigo said as he sheathed the wakizashi, "Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ino, Asuma and Shikamaru couldn't hold it anymore and started laughing much to Ichigo's chagrin as the three laughing people dropped their torches.

Ino then said, "Ichigo?! What kind of a name is that?"

Ichigo then said, "It means 'one who protects' you idiots!"

Chouji rubbed his belly and said, "Now I'm hungry for Ichigo."

Rukia sweatdropped and thought, _'The way he said it doesn't sound right.'_

The laughing died down and Asuma then said, "Arigato Kurosaki-san. Since you're familiar with this, please tell us in detail what we're up against here."

Ichigo had no choice and explained. "That monster that nearly tore you apart was a hollow. They are evil spirits that couldn't pass on to the other life."

Shikamaru then said, "Spirits? Are you serious? Is that why we couldn't see it? Then how come you were able to?"

Ishida then said, "That's because we are more spiritually sensitive so we can see them as clear as day. Shinobi use chakra to perform jutsus by mixing physical and spiritual energy. But this world doesn't have a strong affinity spiritually so its tendency is still physical in nature making it hard to see things of the other origin."

Asuma then said, "I've never heard of anything like this before. But in any case, they're dangerous and literally invisible. We better inform Hokage-sama immediately."

But as they were about to exit, another hollow appeared at the tunnel they came from, blocking their path. Ichigo drew his sword along with Rukia. Chad transformed his right arm into his black and red one, Ishida then drew his Quincy bow and Inoue stood in the back with Renji and Team Asuma who was utterly shocked by sight of their ally's weapons.

Renji then said, "Shit. There's more." True enough, twenty hollows appeared from above and surrounded the entire task force. Renji then brought out a wakizashi from inside his jacket and took a defensive stance while Inoue had her shield at the ready. At this point, everyone else dropped their torches.

Asuma armed himself with his trench knives while Ino readied a kunai. Chouji and Shikamaru took a defensive stance.

The lazy genin then said, "Mendokuse. I can only see a silhouette of them."

Ino chimed in, "Same here." Chouji then said, "I can't see any of them! I don't want to become lunch!"

The hollows drew closer and roared, alerting their presence to the task force. The hollow in front of Chouji leaped at him only to be felled by an arrow fired from Ishida. The hollows then attacked one after the other.

Chad took down two with one blow of his **El Directo**. Renji was busy fighting four while Rukia and Ichigo fended of five each leaving Inoue, Ishida and Team Asuma to fight the other three.

Ino ducked and side rolled to the side to evade one of the hollows only to bump into another. The hollow tried to attack until a black paper crane cut through it leaving it to disappear as sparks of light. Inoue then stood in front of Ino and used **Santen Kesshun **to protect her.

"Are you okay Ino-san?" Inoue asked. Ino then replied, "Yes. Thank you."

Asuma then located the other free hollow that attacked Ino earlier. He then said, "Shikamaru, hold him down for me."

The lazy genius then did several handseals and said, "**Kagemane no jutsu**."

The shadow held the hollow in place just long enough before Shikamaru let go of the jutsu to allow Asuma to cut of its arms with his trench knives. Unfortunately, the limbs grew back again almost as soon as it was cut making the two sigh as the hollow returned to its attack on the two.

Chouji didn't know what was going on since he could not see his opponents. Ishida then said to the plump boy, "What are you doing? Get behind Inoue-san. You're just a liability here."

Ishida then fired another arrow at the hollow in between the eyes. Chouji did as he was told but his ego was bruised and wounded. Ino then said to Ishida, "Oi, bakero! Leave Chouji alone. He may be big but he's got a better personality than you."

Chouji then thought, in relief, _'Big boned people must be in now!' _Unfortunately, Ino then faced Chouji and said, "What the hell are you doing standing around there like a doofus? Let's show them what the Ino-Shika-Cho can do."

Inoue then widened her shield in a triangle formation around herself and the two behind her. Ino accidentally touched the shield and got zapped. Inoue then said, "I know you want to help but I'm afraid I can't let you. You might get hurt or worse, turned into one of them if you get eaten."

Ino and Chouji grew paler at the thought of that. Their fear suddenly grew a little more as Renji managed to kill two of his four opponents. The red haired shinigami then said, "Hehehe. You guys are nothing compared to the guys I've faced. If it wasn't for this body and sword, I'd've cut you before you can blink." The two hollows then opened their mouths and charged up a cero making Renji a bit worried. Rukia saw this and disengaged from her enemies and leaped up and shifted her sword to her left and aimed her right hand on the two hollows and said, "**Bakudo number four, Hainawa!**"

The energy rope tied the two hollows together in a way that they were facing each other causing the two hollows to open fire on each other. The explosion pushed Renji back a little while the shockwave rang around the room. As Rukia landed, Ishida fired five consecutive shots at the hollows Rukia disengaged from, ending their lives. Ichigo then cleaved down his five hollows with ease allowing the team to relax as Chad finished the last hollow for Shikamaru and Asuma. Inoue disengaged the shield allowing the two genins to step out. Ichigo then said, "Is everyone alright?" they all nodded. Asuma then said, "Let's hurry out before more show up."

But as they were about to leave, a knife zoomed by from above and struck Asuma's right ankle causing the man to stumble forward only to be caught by Shikamaru and Chad.

They looked above to see a rain of knives of all sizes and shapes pouring down, ready to turn them into a pincushion. Inoue then brought up the **Santen Kesshun **over all of them as Ishida looked for the source.

While the knives pounded the surroundings, Ino pulled out the knife from Asuma's ankle and said, "Where is it all coming from?"

Renji replied, "Whoever he is, he's good. He's firing that many knives per second."

Ishida then said, "I found him. He's on the highest pipe."

Rukia then said, "Alright. Let's take him." Inoue widened the shield giving enough room for Rukia as she spun her sword to resemble the blades of a spinning fan and saying, "**Hado number fifty eight, Tenran!**" Inoue then opened a hole in her shield allowing the tempest of wind to blow away the blades back to the opponent hiding in the top. Ishida then fired a thousand two hundred arrows per second, overwhelming his opponent's knives by a vast number and giving Team Asuma the shock of their lives. Ichigo and Renji leaped out and used **shunpo** to steadily reach the top as the rain of knives continued. Chad then fired several energy blasts to clear the path further for Renji and Ichigo. But suddenly, the rain of knives stopped and became a rain of grenades and knives attached with explosive tags. Ichigo and Renji leaped back down as the explosives lit the ceiling with fire while smoke fogged the air and shrapnel rained down heavily upon them. Unfortunately, the pipelines were blown to bits as well allowing the pipes and rubble to fall into the mix with water spraying everywhere making it worse.

The group then split up and ran in different pipelines to avoid the chaos in that room. Ichigo, Chad and Shikamaru went through one pipe, Asuma, Ishida and Renji the next, Inoue and Ino in the next, leaving Rukia and Chouji in the last.

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Ichigo looked back and saw that the entrance was blocked. He knew that he was in a bad position and there was no way out. Shikamaru then said, "We're cut off. We need to regroup as quickly as possible."

Chad then said, "Is there a way out Shikamaru-san?" Shikamaru then sat in his meditative position to think. But unlike him, Ichigo would rather act. Ichigo then said, "We can't sit around like this. Whoever that guy was just wants to blow us up. Chad, let's go." Ichigo moved ahead until he looked back and saw the other two still on their spot. Chad then said, "Let's wait first. We don't even know where we're going."

Ichigo sighed and sat down to Shikamaru's level, trying to understand what the younger lad was doing. Ichigo went a little closer until Shikamaru opened his eyes, scaring the shinigami.

Shikamaru then said, "I have a plan to catch this guy and meet up with the others."

Ichigo then said, "So how do we do that from down here?"

Shikamaru replied, "We got separated into four groups. Asuma-sensei, Ishida and Renji are in the north pipe while we're in the northwest. Inoue and Ino are in the east pipe while Rukia and Chouji are in the southwest. All the pipes lead to other sewage entrances but have to go through the main sewage plant. We can find them there by going through the small vents that lead to the top to exhale the toxic fumes. It's big enough for one person to crawl through at a time and we'll be less likely to get targeted by that maniac. Once we get to the main plant, we can open the emergency cables to the other entrances and fix the pipes so that they end up walking into the main one."

They then walked along the pipeline and saw the ventilation shaft and crawled into it with Shikamaru leading, Chad behind him and Ichigo as the last. Ichigo then asked as he crawled on his belly, "Shikamaru-san, how did you know about this place?"

The lazy genius then said, "I read maps on Konoha while I was researching. So I have a vague idea of this place."

Ichigo then said as they continued crawling, "You don't look like the type who'd research on purpose. I bet you'd rather sleep on the grass and watch the clouds."

Shikamaru then said, "You're not so bad when you use your brain more. What made you think that?"

Ichigo then said, "That's exactly what I would do."

Chad kept his silence as they reached the top and pushed the vent screen over and landed in the walkway where the main control panel stood in the center of the rectangular room. It was a single walkway with several large pipes underneath that run along through like a highway. It wasn't that bad to fall since the pipes were so close together that you could walk across them although the higher jut pipes made it a bit troubling. In fact, the pipes themselves were the flooring. At the corner of the room was a platform that allowed travel much easier in the dynamically large room that was almost as large as the Konoha stadium. Shikamaru then quickly went to the panel and saw the controls for the pipelines.

Chad then said, "I feel them. They're close. But someone else is as well."

Ichigo then said, "It must be that guy who attacked us. He's still around here." the orange haired man then said, "Shikamaru, keep track of everyone. Chad, I'll go look for that guy and beat some sense into him."

Suddenly a knife zoomed by aiming to take down Shikamaru with a headshot if Chad didn't catch it in the last minute. On the opposite side of the room, standing on a moveable platform, they saw a fat man wearing dog's mask and a blue beanie to cover his shaved head. He wore heavy Kevlar armor underneath a red shirt with the kanji for raccoon on it and gray shorts under his large belly and black shinobi sandals and a gold watch on his left wrist and a silver ring on the same hand. The only weapons he seemed to carry were a slingshot and a set of knives in different sizes on his belt.

The man then said, "You guys really piss me off with all your running around like that. Now I'm gonna get you good."

Shikamaru then asked, "Who are you?"

The fat man replied, "I am Polgas. And I will cut and cook you guys for dinner before I blow this place up like New Year's Eve!"

The three were shocked at what they heard. Ichigo then quickly went to the control panel and took the intercom and started shouting on it to warn his comrades in arms…

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Asuma, Ishida and Renji ran through the pipe while hollows chased them from behind. Every once in a while, Ishida would fire his bow to hold them back, but they kept on coming."

Ishida then asked, "So why are we running again?"

Asuma replied, "Because the water pressure surrounding us could kill us if we accidentally made a hole in the pipe."

Renji then said, "We're going end up worse if we don't stop them."

Asuma then said, "There's an intersection up ahead. Lets take the left path." But when they got there, it was sealed. Renji then took out his wakizashi and cleaved the gate in half to reveal a downhill sewage pipe with water running in it. Ishida then grabbed the other half of the gate and said to Asuma who was fending off hollows, "Get on!"

Asuma didn't understand why but he got on anyway along with Renji who aimed his right hand at the group of hollows and said, "**Hado number thirty one, shakkaho!**"

The red flames then blasted the hollows and gave the trio the initial push on the makeshift snowboard of steel that they rode on. Renji and Asuma were screaming on their way down the pipeline while Ishida steered. However some of the hollows followed them down. Ishida then said, "Hold on!" the other two held the steel board and Ishida steered it so that it began skating on the ceiling temporarily. Using the window of opportunity, the hollows charged forward allowing Ishida to fire his arrows from above with ease, eliminating the hollows as he steered the metal board using the other side of the pipe and back down.

But just when things got fun, they ended up at a dead end that led to an unfinished part of the pipe. The three then jumped at the last second and landed on the other side as the metal board fell into the darkness.

Asuma then said, "That was the most fun I've had in years. Too bad it can't happen again."

Renji then said, "Well at least we got out alive." He then saw an intercom on a wall across him and what looks like a gate. He then went over to it and pressed the talk button and said, "Oi, is anyone there? Can someone open this gate?"

Suddenly the gate opened and revealed Rukia and Chouji on the other side. Renji smiled seeing a familiar face. Asuma then said, "Where are the others?"

Rukia replied, "I'd like to ask you that as well."

Suddenly the intercom barked, "Rukia, Inoue, Ishida! Is anyone there? Can you hear me?"

Rukia then answered as she looked at the number printed on the wall, "Hai. Were here inside an unfinished pipeline. Pipeline six to be exact."

Ichigo then said, "Get out of there! The maniac rigged this place to blow up any second now!"

Asuma then asked, "What do you mean? Where are the bombs planted?"

Chouji then said, "Asuma-sensei, we need to find Ino and Inoue-san."

Renji then said, "Let's go find Ichigo and Chad first. They're most likely with that maniac and need help."

Ishida then nodded and said, "The guy probably has the remote for the bombs and we'll be able to find out what he's doing here and why are there this many hollows here."

The group then ran inside the side stairs that led to the control room.

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Chad had his right arm in its shield mode to defend against the knives thrown at him by Polgas. Ichigo was walking on what was left of the pipes from accidentally tripping a claymore and leaping out using his inhuman speed. He tried to get closer but only made it halfway with the rest of the claymores planted on several pipelines and grenades thrown at him. That and the fact that Polgas kept on moving the damned platform he was riding on. Luckily, Polgas wasn't that accurate and Ichigo batted away the grenades that could've blown apart Chad and Shikamaru with his wakizashi

Shikamaru couldn't use his jutsu on him since his shadow couldn't reach him from the levitated position Polgas was in. He looked for the switch to stop the platform but the remote had been removed from the controls along with the wiring.

Shikamaru thought, _'He hotwired the controls. Looks like I have to find those bombs manually at this rate.'_

Polgas then shouted, "Die bastards, die!" he then loaded several more knives on his slingshot and fired away at Ichigo who deflected them with ease. Ichigo moved closer and jumped at him. Polgas got the jump on Ichigo, however, and threw a smokebomb, blinding Ichigo at the last second. The fat man then threw a clay-like substance that hit Ichigo straight on the chest. But what was unusual about it is that it had a small timer on it.

Ichigo fell back and luckily landed on one of the sturdier pipes and saw the substance on his shirt. He didn't want to think what it was and removed his shirt knowing that it would be hard to remove it by hand. Unfortunately, the substance exploded, sending Ichigo flying to the other side of the room with burns and shrapnel all over his body. Chad then threw an energy blast at the fat man who evaded it with ease, considering the distance he was in. Polgas moved the platform to the rightmost corner as he got out a bottle of dust from his pocket, opened it, and spread the dust in the air. He then made handseals and said, "**Doton, Ishi Koutetsu no Jutsu!**" the dust then changed into hundreds of knives of different sizes and shapes and flew towards the entire crew. Chad then shielded himself and Shikamaru took cover behind the control panel while Ichigo lay down, avoiding the knives.

Ichigo then thought, _'If only I could get out of my body…that's it!'_

Ichigo then took out substitute shinigami badge and was about to use it until an arrow of pure energy flew and struck the platform cable Polgas was on, causing it to stop.

Ichigo sat up and saw that Ishida, Asuma, Rukia, Chouji, and Renji were around the control panel along with Chad and Shikamaru.

Ichigo then said, "Ishida! You made it in time."

Ishida then said, "Looks like I always have to save the day."

Polgas then took out a remote and pushed the button. Asuma saw this and said, "Shit! We're too late!"

Polgas laughed his heart out for a few seconds till he realized nothing was exploding. The fat man then said, "What the? Why isn't it working?"

Inoue and Ino arrived at the scene carrying what appears to be C4, TNT and mini Napalm flasks. The group looked on in astonishment and Inoue said, "The bombs are useless now since I dismantled them. It's over. We won."

Ichigo moved back to the group and fell at his knees. Rukia ran to him and Inoue carefully dropped the dismantled bombs to check up on him.

"Ichigo!" Rukia cried out as she helped him lie down for Inoue to heal him. But before she could heal him, she felt someone tap her back. The group saw the fat man passing them and several explosions surrounded them allowing the fat man to leap through a hole in the wall. Because they were preoccupied with Ichigo's welfare, they didn't notice the man running away and now couldn't chase him because of the wall of explosions hindering them.

When the explosions stopped, Ino said, "Darn. He got away." But when she looked at Inoue's back, she saw a C4 bomb on her back. Ino then shouted, "Inoue-san! There's one of that C4 bombs like the ones we just dismantled on your back!"

Shikamaru then said, "Nobody panic. There's a timer on it. We can dismantle it manually. Does anyone know how to dismantle this kind bomb?"

Inoue then said as she chuckled, "I'm familiar with this kind of bomb."

Shikamaru sweatdropped and said, "Mendokuse. We are screwed."

Inoue then did the unthinkable and removed her blouse allowing everyone to see her ample bosom supported by her white bra. Chouji and Shikamaru were stunned, as was everyone else in the room. Ishida turned his back and said, "Inoue-san! Don't you have dignity?"

Inoue then threw the blouse as far as she could to allow the bomb to blow up where they could not be touched. Inoue then laughed and said, "I'm sorry. I forgot that you were all here."

They all face vaulted and Ino frowned as she thought, _'She forgot that we were here? Who is this girl? She's like Naruto.'_

Chad then said, "Ichigo is still bleeding."

They looked and saw Ichigo as he comically grew paler. Inoue then said, "Sorry about that." She then raised her arms and said, "**Soten Kisshun.**" The shield then surrounded him and began rejecting the damage done to him. Team Asuma was surprised once again when they saw Ichigo healing faster than their medic nins could ever achive. It took three seconds and Ichigo was back on his feet.

Ino shook her head in further shock and disbelief of yet another new trick that this mystery group pulled out of thin air. Then, in a voice that demanded some explanation of the unusual set of occurrences, she said, "What. Just. Happened?" _'First the hollows…then the crazy powers...next, this woman's expertise in explosives I've never even heard of. Heck, I didn't even understand everything she was explaining past the word C4 and dangerous explosive…now she can heal people in less than ten seconds?!'_

Renji then said, "It's Inoue-san's power."

Asuma then thought, _'A Kekei Genkai? I feel like I need an ice bag after this.' _Of course, Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji thought so as well in different versions of the dialogue in their heads.

Renji then said, "Her power is the power that defies kami-sama's territory, the ability to reject an event as if it never happened before."

Asuma then said, "What a scary ability."

Ichigo then said, "Arigato Inoue. But how did you stop the bombs?"

Ino then said, "When we got separated, we ran through the foundations and saw all those bombs. Inoue-san was the one who located it and dismantled the bombs. I helped."

Inoue smiled and said, "It wasn't that important."

Rukia then said, "Now that that's over, we should return and report to Hokage-sama about what happened here."

Asuma then said, "Ha-hai. Let's do that." _'These people are something else. Using jutsus of varying and unknown origin. Wait a minute!! …Some of those jutsus were similar to the ones Naruto used against Kiba. I can't remember the name properly but it was the last one Naruto used to defeat him. Is there some sort of connection? If there is, Shikamaru must have some serious questions and thoughts going through his mind right now__and is in deep already.'_

The task force then left the underground sewage complex through the emergency exit that led to the surface. Inoue and Asuma were the first ones to resurface back to Konoha. They came out of an alleyway and a blushing Asuma said to Inoue, "Ummm…Inoue-san, I feel that you should put something on."

Inoue looked a little puzzled. Asuma then pointed at her chest without looking and Inoue got the idea. Unfortunately, someone else got the wrong idea and dropped her grocery bags when she saw Asuma pointing at Inoue's almost bare upper body. Asuma knew something was wrong and looked to the left and was jawdropped when he saw Kurenai with a shocked expression. Kurenai then frowned as she closed her eyes and turned around and left.

Asuma then ran after her and said, "Kurenai, Wait! I can explain!"

Kurenai stopped for a moment and said, "What for? I think it's pretty obvious." She then left giving a dejected Asuma the cold shoulder. The rest of the group surfaced and Ichigo said, "Finally we're out. What's wrong with him?"

Inoue then said with a sad tone, "I think his girlfriend got the wrong idea."

Ino then placed her hands on her hips and said, "Looks like Asuma-sensei will be dropping by my store very often."

Shikamaru then looked at the sky and said, "The clouds sure are beautiful today. I guess it wasn't so troublesome today." _'I am seriously screwed. This is getting way over my head. I'm sure to be killed on sight if all this ends up to be one big plot by some evil genius. To think that all that insanity might be related to Naruto is giving me a migraine worse than okaa-san when she accidentally drank sake one night.'_

Meanwhile, in a fancy apartment, Polgas' female accomplice was pacing the room back and forth while a silver haired young boy in elegant traditional Japanese robes was busy reading a book.

"What the hell is taking him so long?" the irate woman said.

The silver haired boy said, "Be patient Tokage-san. You know how he is. He'll come back pissed off and he'll blame his faults on another party."

Just then, Polgas entered through the door and said, "Man I really had a bad day. This pisses me off. It was all their fault in the first place."

The silver haired boy then looked at Polgas and said, "Tanuki-san…did you accomplish your mission?"

Polgas then said, "Hai, Hikaru-sama. I made sure to do everything as I was told."

Tokage then said, "Good. Everything is going according to plan. What is the next step Hikaru-sama?"

Hikaru then closed his book and said as he returned it to a nearby shelf, "We wait for the rest to come. I have Polgas and Bayawak with me so all that remains is Ampaw, Unggoy, Tritran and Kapre."

Tokage then said, "What about Agila?"

Hikaru then said, "Agila will do what he does best. He never wanted to be part of the team so we can't force him. And besides, why indoctrinate someone who already is?"

Polgas then said, "So what about that painting? You said you'd finish it by the time I came back?"

Hikaru then said with a confident smile. "I'm glad you asked. I did." He then removed the cloth covering the painting beside the shelf. "See? It's there!" Hikaru said to them.

He then looked at the painting and said, "Why so serious my friend? You should smile and laugh more. After all, you can't spell slaughter without laughter." He smiled at the painting of Sasuke chained up with a hole in his heart and a small ball of light glowing from the center where his heart should be.

Many things can happen in a day more so, in a week or two. The plot thickens with enemies old and new in the picture. But no matter how short the foliage in Konoha, there will always be Snakes in the Grass.

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(pants as I reload the SVD and picks up the leg-length balisong from the floor) Whew. Now that I've taken care of the haters, how did you guys like it?

Barkeep: Shit! Look at all the shit you made! You better clean up this mess or-

Don't worry they're not dead. I used elephant tranquilizer darts. They'll be out for a couple of hours. They may be haters, but I don't kill would-be fans or former fans. I'll be working my ass off though so that the next update is faster and I don't end up with this mess ever again.

(more haters open fire from outside the Yellow Flag)

Crap! (Dives behind a couch and switches to a minigun with tranquilizer ammo)

Barkeep: That's it! I'm through with this! No more duck and cover for me. (He pulls out an AA12)

Hey! Use Rubber bullets with that thing! Zero casualties, remember? Just because you lost Tsukamoto-san to your Idol manga artist doesn't mean-

(He opens fire blowing up some cars used as a shield)

Ahh whatever. I'll see you guys in the next update. Till then, Jaa matta! (Gets up and fires like there's no tomorrow making several haters have sweet dreams of faster updates and better storylines)

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**Doton, Ishi Koutetsu no Jutsu(Earth Release, Stone Steel Technique)- **a technique that turns earth into steel. The user can control the shape of the steel in anyway he likes and use it or throw it.


	25. The Chunin Exams

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: (Drops the minigun and saw all the sleeping haters and former fans upon piles of rubble.) Here's another great chapter for you guys. With the plot thickening and deadlines knocking on my head, I managed to write this out.

Barkeep: How'd you manage to do that while punching them full of tranq bullets?

I can multitask... I think. But now that the fans are either asleep or happy with the pace, I can work on the next set of things to do. This will be a very exciting chapter. It might span into the next chapter if I can't squeeze it in all here. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter while I help the disgruntled barkeep cleanup his bar... before he rants about how he lost the girl of his dreams to his idol in his former occupation as a manga artist.

Barkeep: Hey! Say one more word and I'll make sure you type your story in the back of your spine…from the front!

And he's pissed. (Shows the barkeep a picture of his girl carrying a baby with his manga idol beside her making said barkeep weep anime tears.)

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 25**

_**The Chunin Exams**_

The sun peeked its face over the horizon…

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Just before dawn could shower its radiance upon the streets of Konoha, The young blonde awakened from slumber. He quickly got out of bed, took a bath, dressed in his attire for the day, and checked his armaments. He still had his utility belt on with its pouches filled with medical equipment, a mirror, smoke bombs, a few flash bombs and one hundred exploding tags. He still had his quadruple kunai holster now filled with senbons instead of kunai since he still had his three summoning seals on both his arms. He then tied his black hitai-ate on his forehead and let his bangs flow down upon it. His hair was combed to look tamer and lost its prominent spikes. Especially since it grew a little bit more over the past month. (Think of Ky Kisuke's hair. Not the Overture version.)

'_I guess it's time. I really wish I could see Hinata today. She's been training for the last few weeks and now I'm worried.'_ The young blonde thought as he looked out his window. He then stepped out of it and walked along the sky towards the small forest of Konoha Fire Lilies in his backyard. When he was just above the largest Konoha Fire Lily that glowed with a blue light, he then dropped down next to it and saw the beautiful tree that now bore several of the white, semi-transparent fruits. He looked around and saw that many more Konoha Fire Lilies had grown to be as big as a young tree and bore several fruits of the same color. Eventually, his presence attracted a lot of kitsunes that came out of hiding in their burrows underneath the trees of the Konoha Fire Lily.

He then smiled when he saw them and one kitsune among the many had two tails. Naruto instantly recognized the kitsune and said, "Yo, Kohaku! What have you been up to while I was busy?"

The odd fox then stood on his two feet and put his other arms on his hips and said, "I've been training! I'll be the best nin-kitsune in the world!"

Naruto crossed his arms and said, "You better be. Who knows? You might be the next Kyuubi. Don't be a bad breath psycho like him though."

His firey tenant then grunted, **Some master you are. I need a new job.**

Naruto then pulled out a scroll from his white jacket and gave it to Kohaku and said, "When the genjutsu begins, take this to the Hokage Tower and do the jutsu I taught you."

Kohaku then did a handseal and a puff of smoke covered him. When he emerged from it, he was wearing a shihakusho with a hole in his back to allow his tails some room to breathe while he had the scroll tied to his back. He then did an odd salute and said, "Ryokai aniki-taicho! What about a message to hime-sama?"

Naruto then looked back at the blue tree and remembered the time he danced with her before he gave her a goodnight kiss and brought her home. He then closed his eyes and said, "Tell her that I miss her and I want to see her again."

Kohaku nodded and said, "I'll be sure to finish the mission. Gambare aniki-taicho." With that, Kohaku left in a **shunsin** of fire.

Naruto then took a whiff of the fresh air and walked back into the house and right into the living room where Ichigo, Chad, Rukia, Ishida, Inoue, Renji and Urahara were preparing. They were wearing their civilian clothes but the looks in their eyes said that they were ready to fight.

Ichigo then said, "So what happens after this is over?"

Naruto then said, "I still have to defeat the elemental gods so its up to you guys what you want to do. I will come back to run the division but don't count on me staying there permanently."

Renji then said as he rubbed his knuckles on Naruto's crown, "The old man said before we left that we got to pull you back. I don't give a shit if I have to drag you back by your tongue but we're not leaving without ya."

Inoue then said, "Abarai-kun is right. We're not the only ones who are sad that you're leaving us. What about your parents and your division? They're important too."

Naruto was a bit shocked but then he rubbed his head and said, "I thought about that too. I'm really torn right now since I can't leave this place and stay with you guys at the same time."

Rukia then said, "It's alright. You don't have to decide yet. But whatever decision you make, it's alright. We will always be your friends."

Urahara then said as he took his cane from the floor, "Although I'd like to talk some more, lets finish our mission."

They nodded and Chad said, "Let's go to our positions."

Ishida then said, "Right. Naruto will be participating in the chunin exams so that leaves us to do the outside work until the signal."

Renji then said, "When the sound and sand armies come rushing in, Urahara-san will activate the shield generator and the reiatsu generator underneath the Hokage Monument and lock the armies inside allowing no escape. Then, Rukia and I will support the West side to allow the guards to retreat back and hold the line and take the fight into the streets."

Ichigo then said, "After the signal, I'll activate the reiatsu generator in the Hokage Tower and stop as many sand and sound shinobi as I can and clear a path for the main troops to the West wall while Chad, Ishida and Inoue bring the civilians in the Hokage Monument and then take down the shinobi in the arena."

Naruto then said, "Don't forget. We need to protect Sarutobi-jiji. He died twice…I'm not going to let him die again. And as much as possible, don't kill the Sand shinobi. They still are our allies."

The rest nodded and Urahara then said as he turned around, "Well then, I'll go check on the generators."

Naruto then **shunpo'd** out of sight and they all split into different directions to wage war upon the joint effort of Suna and Oto.

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While Naruto's world was facing imminent war, Sereitei was at peace while Shuhei Hisagi was rallying the troops into training in a grassy meadow. They were only one hundred strong since being disbanded, but the ones that remained were the battle-hardened veterans with the experience and scars to show for it.

The hundred strong-division faced the scarred man with a look of concern on their faces. Hisagi then said, "Today we'll be training in urban warfare. You will split into two groups—one with a red band on their left arm and the other with a blue one." He then pointed to the left, a hill filled with trenches and broken down, modern day buildings. "The red team will use the training guns and **kido** as their weapons while the blue team will use only the training swords. Red team will attack the building to claim the flag while blue team defends."

One shinigami then asked, "Fukutaicho, I remember this training very well. Are the rules the same as before?"

Hisagi then said, "Hai. Like before, the training guns and swords won't kill but are made to sedate and drain the opponent instead. The stronger one's reiatsu and resolve is, the less likely will he fall asleep. And like before, all **kido** will be restricted to all **Bakudo **and **Hado number one** only. Once the first battle is won, then the two teams will exchange colors. After that battle is won, then the two teams will revert to the same colors and exchange roles with red team the defenders and blue team as the attackers."

Another shinigami then asked a question. "Fukutaicho, I don't understand the purpose of this training. Why do we even bother using the **Kido **guns?"

Hisagi then faced him and said, "You're the new recruit, right? This was our training method when the Taicho was running the division. It builds teamwork and efficiency against various odds."

The new recruit then asked, "If that's the case, then why aren't the other divisions doing the same? They stick to their zanpakuto with their lives and wear the same uniforms. What makes us any different?"

Shuhei then replied with an assuring voice, "_Do whatever it takes to protect those closest to your heart no matter what the odds or the cost_. This was Namikaze-taicho's order to us as a division. By this principle, we live and die as a division. It is this principle that has kept our bonds strong and our hearts humbled and pure. I still believe in this principle and will uphold it until we go and support Namikaze-taicho in his battle against the elemental gods."

The division looked among themselves and nodded at each other before they faced Hisagi. One of them then said, "You don't have to remind us Shuhei-san. Even if only five of us remain, we'll gladly give our lives to our Taicho. If it was worth it for him to sacrifice himself for us countless times…"

Another shinigami then said, "It hell as is worth it for us!"

Shuhei saw and heard them cheer like the band of brothers they are. He then thought, _'He would cry his eyes out if he saw this right now. Hold on…we're coming for you.'_

Meanwhile, Genryuusai stood upright at the back of the monitoring room. The rectangular room was filled with computers lined up in several rows with shinigamis seated in front of each one. The shinigamis typed away as the commander-general focused at the largest monitor in the front of the room. Normally, the ten feet by ten feet monitor would show the two worlds namely, Soul Society and the Real World. While the main monitor showed those two worlds, the smaller computers would show the details of each world such as, climate, temperature, over all reiatsu percentage, souls, hollows, as well as a birds eye view of the worlds if necessary.

However, this wasn't a normal day. This time, the large screen showed the world of Naruto and was currently viewing the entire continent in search of more than just the missing captain. Rather, their focus was on the location of the elemental gods.

Currently, the commander-general kept a keen eye on the screen for any anomalies that would usually occur whenever something this grand would occasionally step into their black and white lives. But his focused gaze was interrupted as his lieutenant and his newly appointed third division captain, Namikaze Minato, entered the scene with a natural grace until one shinigami on the computer lines then said, "We found the Cinder Bird!"

The old warrior then said, "Where is his location?"

The shinigami then put it up on the screen. An area in **Hi no Kuni** just three hundred meters in diameter was blinking red on the large monitor. The shinigami that reported in then said, "Sir, he hasn't moved from his position in seven years. What should we do?"

Minato then cut in and asked the commander-general, "Genryuusai-sotaicho, if I may, shouldn't we go down there and question him? With my son's involvement into this affair, it is safe to say we are within jurisdiction to handle this case."

The old warrior kept his silence. The shinigamis at the computer lines then started to get negative readings on their monitors.

The first division fukutaicho then looked over one and said, "Genryuusai-sotaicho. There is another wave of hollows that plans on taking over a village known as Konoha."

Minato then said, "That is my village. Naruto is there sotaicho."

The old warrior then sternly said, "No. I will not allow anyone interfere with the mission of the ninth division captain. His mission is to stop the reawakening of the elemental gods. No one is to interfere with his mission. Kami-sama requested him personally."

Minato bowed his head in defeat as the rest of the shinigamis looked to the commander general with respect, confusion and fear. The old warrior was cunning and impatient but was also respected and feared as a leader by his subordinates who, in that room, promptly returned back to work while Minato walked out, prepared to go against Kami himself if needed be. He was normally a patient and calm man but this wasn't the time to wait.

The former yondaime thought as he walked towards the third division headquarters, _'It doesn't matter if it was Kami-sama's command. I can't leave my son and village to the hands of Orochimaru, Suna, Hollows and Elemental gods. I'll just do things myself.'_

When he reached the front of the third division headquarters, Izuru Kira was there, waiting for him. The two blondes made eye contact and the younger one was a bit startled that his lieutenant was expecting him. Kira then said, "Welcome back taicho. The taicho of the fifth division is waiting for you at the Senkai Gate."

Minato then said, "Eh? She's there?"

The two then rushed to the Senkai Gate behind the main complex and saw a young, brown haired woman with her hair tied in a bun on the back waiting for them just in front of the aforementioned gateway between worlds with two guards standing by the gate. What was unusual about her was not her now narrowed and more mature eyes, but that her Haori was a permanent color of crimson and reeked of a metallic smell wherever she went. She still kept her zanpakuto by her side though her hands were tucked into the sleeves of the other, the way cultured Chinese people of old would do. She then walked towards them as Minato then said, "Hinamori-san…What's the meaning of this?"

Hinamori replied, "We were ordered to go to your world and prepare for battle."

Minato then asked in confusion, "We?"

"Yes, We…" said an energetic redhead behind him. Minato looked and saw it was his wife Kushina who spoke. But she wasn't the only one there. Hitsugaya was also with her along with Matsumoto, Ikkaku and Yumichika.

Minato was really surprised now. "Matte. (Wait) You're all going there?" He saw the looks on their faces and saw their determination.

Hitsugaya then said, "We will accompany you to your world and explore it as instructed by the Sotaicho. We were also ordered to find any connections the elemental gods still have with that world and find their masters' weaknesses."

Minato then said, "But he said that we shouldn't interfere with Naruto's mission."

Ikkaku then said with a smile, "Who said anythin' about interfering? We're just exploring the place."

It hit the former yondaime like a ton of bricks. _'We can't interfere with Naruto's mission but we can freely enter and exit without restrictions. And because of hollow threats to that world, we are completely in control over it and we can locate the elemental gods directly and make a direct attack at their allies and connections.'_

Kushina saw the look in her husbands eyes that said he understood what this course of action meant. She then walked up to him and said, "We won't let our child fight his battles alone. He has family and friends he can count on, ne?"

Minato smiled and said, "Hai. He does." The third division captain then faced the Senkai gate and told the guards at the gate, "Open the gate. We will move out."

The guards then did as they were told, allowing the light from the gate to shine brightly in their faces without blinding them.

Izuru then walked to the guard on the left of the gate and said to him, "Please inform the twelfth division captain to prepare for departure to Namikaze-taicho's world."

The guard bowed in compliance and walked towards the twelfth division while a pink haired spy from the eleventh division skipped from her hidden position in one corner towards the eleventh division headquarters to inform her captain of what was going on. Yumichika knew that they were being followed and said out loud, "It seems that things will get chaotic down there. But even disorder can look beautiful."

Hinamori then said with finality, "Even if she told him, he wouldn't be interested unless there was someone who could face him in battle. Mina, Ikimashou." (Everyone, let's go.)

They then faced the shining gateway and walked into it, disappearing from view as they stepped through.

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At this point, everyone was wide-awake, ready to tackle another day. One person however, did not tackle the day with as much energy because she trained herself to the bone for the past few weeks to catch up to her beloved. She woke up from her futon to gaze her sleepy eyes to the sliding door that was left open with a composed, male figure standing there with a cold look in his eyes. "Wake up. It shouldn't take long for you to get dressed so we will wait for you, Hinata."

Hinata's lavender eyes by this time gained focus and saw her father standing there with his calculating face, set like stone. She got up and said, "Hai, Otou-sama."

Her father stood there by the doorway and watched as she quickly folded the futon with care.

He watched as she fixed it in place by the corner with the pillow on top.

He watched as she went into her dresser and quickly rushed into the bathroom to take a quick bath.

And he watched the empty room and shook his head in disappointment.

The cold man then thought, _'She is the spitting image of you in every way. From her looks, to the way she acts, and even her heart and mind. But as the clan head, I cannot allow her to be submissive. She will hate me, but she will learn and grow. Hopefully, very soon.'_

The pitter-patter of footsteps behind him tugged him back to reality as Hanabi behind him said, "Chichiue, we will be late if we take much longer."

Hyuuga Hiashi faced her and said, "Let us go then." He didn't even bother to look back as he took his other daughter outside the complex and into the empty streets towards the arena where the last exam would be held. However, Hinata knew that he left, and came out of her bathroom to see him no longer by the door. It hurt her to hear him walk away, but nevertheless, she then put on her regular clothing except for the Hyuuga jacket. Afterwards, she went to her small desk by the corner, faced the mirror there, and contemplated.

She looked at her face, imagined her mother and thought, _'Okaa-san…Otou-san has never shown kindness since you left us. If only I can see you again. Maybe then you could tell me why he is the way he is. I'm afraid that if this goes on, he would banish me once he knows of my relationship with Naruto-kun.'_

She sighed as she closed her eyes and said, "It still amazes me that Naruto-kun chose me. I never thought that he would choose someone like me over someone like Sakura-san." _'But I wouldn't have it any other way though. I wish I could do more for him. But why am I thinking this? Maybe it's because, just hearing his voice and seeing him is not enough for me.' _

She then opened her eyes again and thought, _'That's right…it isn't enough. I want to know him. I want to share my life with him and gain his in return. I want to be close to him. What is his favorite color? When does he get angry? When is he sad? When is he happiest? The little things like that. But am I really the right one for him?'_

And like her father, she was also ringed back into reality when she saw in the mirror, Kohaku, in a small shihakusho fitting for a fox. She then turned around and asked, "Anata dare?" (Who are you?)

Kohaku then said, "It is I, Kohaku-sama! Here to give you a message from Aniki-taicho!"

Hinata was a little nervous when she heard the word 'message' from Kohaku. She blinked as the two-tailed fox scratched his back to remove the annoying itch of the fabric rubbing on his fur. The Hyuuga heiress contemplated some more. _'Naruto-kun has a message for me. Maybe he's worried about me. No, it is not a maybe. I haven't spoken to him for the past few weeks when I was training. I shouldn't have worried him.'_

When the small fox finished his sub-venture, he then went straight to the point of his mission. "Hime-sama, Aniki-taicho wants to see you. He's on his way to the arena as we speak."

Hinata heard him and thought, _'I should go there. He needs me.' _she then stood up and said, "Arigato Kohaku-san. I must go now."

The Hyuuga heiress left in a hurry. At this point, Kohaku's mission was half-completed. With the mission in mind, he then **shunsined** in a cloud of smoke. The two tailed fox had his mind on the mission while his master had his heart set out on a different route.

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Naruto had reached the training area where he had first became a genin. He gazed upon the bed of grass that the three training logs stood upon. He then looked at the sky and saw its blue nature surrounded by grayish-white clouds that reflected the struggle in his heart. He then thought, _'To live under this blue sky is comforting__,__ but lonely. If only I knew how to handle all of this pressure and responsibilities. The weight of three worlds are on my shoulders…as well as the hearts in them…I really have no idea how to deal with this at this point.'_

Naruto then turned around and saw Hinata there, just three steps behind him. They gazed at each other and Naruto then asked, "Hina-hime, why did you come here?"

Hinata replied as she looked down, "I don't know. I just felt I should be here."

Naruto looked to the side in nervousness. He didn't expect this but neither did she. And strangely, both looked at each other at the same time with the same gaze…the gaze of concern.

"Gomenasai…"(I'm very sorry.) the both of them replied, astonishing the other. After a brief pause from the shock, Naruto then walked a bit closer and said, "No, I should apologize. I was the one at fault, not you. I should have put you first instead of the mission."

Hinata then replied, "Iie(No)... It was my fault. In my passion to get stronger, I failed to put you in my heart."

Naruto's heart was struggling to say what he wanted to say. But somehow, he felt that he should ask her what was tugging her heart. "Don't blame yourself Hinata. It's not your fault. I understand you want to get stronger, but you could've asked me for help. I'll gladly help you any way I can."

Hinata pushed her pointer fingers together to relieve some of the stress in her heart. "I know I could have. But if I did, I would just be bothering you."

Naruto saw her old habits returning and it wasn't good. _'Was she that desperate for strength? No…It's deeper than that. I can feel it. She must be worried that she wasn't adequate for me.' _He then swallowed to steady his heart and said, "Hinata, you are irreplaceable to me. It doesn't matter to me if you are weak or strong. You are just Hinata and that is more than enough for me." The Hyuuga Heiress was-wide eyed at what she heard and gazed into his deep, cerulean eyes. She found no hesitation in his words or his heart. The young blonde then continued. "It doesn't matter that you have weaknesses or flaws. I think that those are what make you yourself. And they're beautiful to me." He then smiled and said, "Aishiteru Hinata."

Tears started welling up her eyes and she fell deeper in love with him than before. She wanted to return his love, but instead, she steeled her heart and said, "Arigato Naruto-kun. Demo, I will still be stubborn so please listen to my selfish requests."

Naruto closed his eyes and said, "Gomen, but I will also be stubborn and even though I will listen, that won't stop me from showing you how much I care."

Both felt a great weight lifted from their hearts and now could look each other in the eye properly. Naruto then said to her, "We should talk more often like this."

Hinata nodded and said with a small smile, "But I want to hear your problems more though."

Naruto replied, "But don't we always talk about that?" He walked closer to her and held her hands in his only for her to leave his grip and turn around, confusing him greatly.

Hinata shook her head lightly and said, "No. I meant your other problems. You always try to avoid anything about yourself that sometimes, your problems are showing because of that. I want to help you as well." After she said that, she faced him and showed seriousness in her expression. She was determined to help him and nothing…not even him would stop her.

Naruto drooped his head slightly, sighed and said, "You're right. I'm worried about all the mistakes I've made. Every action has a consequence, and I can clearly see it more than ever. I wish I knew exactly what I was doing so that I could see where I was going. I need Shikamaru's brain for things like this."

Hinata then said, "I don't think that would help. Shikamaru-san wouldn't know how to deal with so much responsibility all at once…at least will be bound to make mistakes and get stronger from them." Naruto this time was wide-eyed as she continued. "When I watch you, there is this impact on my heart. You always fall and get up without effort. You are used to falling and failing that it doesn't matter anymore and you just learn from it. You are not perfect. But you still keep flying towards where you want to go and it inspires me so much. I believe that you are stronger than anyone because of this. To be able to have that attitude despite the weight on your shoulders is more than inspiring."

Naruto replied with awe, "Sugoi... I never thought about that... Arigato Hinata. I feel confident again."

Hinata smiled as she saw her love brighten again. And in time too. The fireworks begun lighting the sky, indicating that the matches were going to begin. Naruto then quickly ran to Hinata and hugged her tightly and gave her a light kiss on the lips before he let go and said with a charming smile, "I hope you can make it to watch my match."

Hinata blushed at what he just. Although she didn't show it, she was half expecting it to happen. Despite that fact, she still kept her composure and replied nonetheless. "I will Naruto-kun. I believe in you."

Naruto then turned around and **shunpo'd** out of sight just in time for Kiba with Akamaru in his jacket, to come into the clearing. "Sorry I was late Hinata. Shino's match is later on so…"

Kiba saw the star struck look in her eyes and was confused. Hinata then turned around and said, "Kiba-kun, let's go to the arena. I want to watch the first match."

Kiba replied, "Hey, Hinata, are you sure you can still move after that training?"

Hinata nodded and said, "Hai. It was only meditation so it wasn't that bad."

Kiba replied with a frown, "Meditation? You were fighting Kurenai sensei in the dark on top of water while she placed a genjutsu on you. What kind of meditation is that?"

Hinata was about to speak when Kiba cut her and said, "Look, we all have our secrets including your relationship with Naruto." Hinata's had a look of shock on her and Kiba picked that little detail up as he continued. "What? We didn't notice? You stuck too close to him that even I figured it out."

"Kiba-kun." Hinata replied.

The dog-boy then said, "Next time you want to do some crazy training, count me and Shino in. We're a lot more useful than you think. Just don't do anything weird like summoning a shinigami or something like it."

Hinata sweatdropped as she thought, _'Kiba-kun…I might as well be one since I've been seeing my inner spirit very often.'_

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Meanwhile, the arena was packed to the brim with people of all walks of life. In the wide space of the arena, Neji, Shino, Temari, Kankuro, and Shikamaru stood in one line leaving only Sasuke and Naruto to complete the set. Gekko Hayate was the examiner this time around since Haku was on duty alongside Anko to escort the people in Konoha, the moment Oto and Suna would strike.

In the stands, Ishida, Ichigo, Inoue, Chad, Rukia and Renji sat in several key areas in the crowd to ferry and protect the people at a moments notice.

In the VIP box where the feudal lords sat, a silver-haired boy in elegant red robes, watched the stage with a shine in his eyes while his two guards sat beside him with an ever-watchful gaze behind their masks.

One of the nearby feudal lords then asked the boy, "I'm surprised you would watch the match, Hikaru-sama. Wouldn't you normally be in the capital, arranging peace treaties and making efforts of diplomacy with the other nations?"

Hikaru then replied with a child-like smile, "Getting out of that office is good once in a while. Also, I heard that this year is filled with really good fighters."

The feudal lord nodded in acknowledgement and continued getting in the good graces of the young boy, as did other surrounding lords of the land. Of course, there was another person who was trying to keep good relations and that was Sarutobi in his private seating beside the empty chair where the Kazekage who he knew was Orochimaru in disguise, was to be seated. It was a hard choice for the old warrior to face his former student. But unless he did, then Konoha wouldn't be safe from harm. Tensions were high as he looked down into the arena.

And in said location, it was a tense time and Shikamaru could feel it despite the fact that he lives in his brain more than his rarely used heart. But then again, he seldom really puts effort in his mind so it is hard to really define how he thinks or feels. Only he knows and at the moment, he was too anxious to think of anything else. The lazy genius looked around from his position on the line and thought, _'Hey now, we're missing quite a lot of people here.'_

Ino in the stands beside Sakura, also felt the same way as she said, "What are the others doing? The matches are going to begin soon."

Sakura then thought with concern, _'What's going on, Sasuke-kun? And Naruto is gone as well.'_

However, the young blonde was close to the arena and stopped using **shunpo** and started running normally to avoid attention. The guards at the entrance noticed him and one said, "Hey, they've already begun the entrance ceremony."

Naruto replied as he walked inside, "Arigato! Watch out for snakes."

The guards were puzzled by what he meant but tossed off the thought as Naruto entered the stadium. He walked with confidence as all eyes focused on him.

Ichigo then said from his position in the stands, "So he finally got here. Looks like everything is set." _'I'm sure he won't mess up. We can take it a bit easy.'_

And Murphy's Law struck again with Naruto tripping in midstep and falling face flat just in front of Shikamaru. Ichigo then thought, _'Matakun, is he really reliable?'_

Shikamaru looked at the downed blonde and said, "What kind of entrance was that?"

Sakura shouted in delight, "Naruto!"

Ino frowned and crossed her arms. "He's totally late."

Shikamaru then helped him up and said, "Mendokusai." (How troublesome.)

Naruto got back to his senses and said, "Am I late? Then again…"

The young blonde looked around with a quick glance, surveying the audience. _'Ichigo is near the left exit of the left box…Rukia is in the right exit of the left box…Renji is in the crowd of that box…Ishida is in the right exit of the right box…Inoue is in the crowd and Chad is in the left exit of that box leaving the shinobi to protect the feudal lords and the hokage.' _With everyone in position, he then said, "Huh? Where's Sasuke?"

Shikamaru replied, "The Dosu guy who was supposed to fight me isn't here either."

Naruto took another look at the crowd. He hoped she would be there watching him. And when he took another look at the box where Inoue was, he saw his beloved there gazing at him with those beautiful lavender eyes as she stood by the steps alongside Kiba. Even if it was far away, their eyes met and they both knew it. The young blonde felt his heart strengthen and thought, _'I'll avenge you Hinata. I did it once and I can do it again. This time, I won't ignore you. I'll make you the happiest girl on this world. I promise.'_

Suddenly, Gekko Hayate, in between coughs, said to the two boys, "You two shouldn't stand around like that. Get back in line."

The genins looked back at the crowd as the sickly nin said, "You will be fighting for the entertainment of these people. Show them your confidence and strength."

Sarutobi from his position, looked on with a neutral face while the shinobi attendant beside him said, "Several ANBU teams are searching for him, but he is nowhere to be found. He may have fallen into Orochimaru's hands already."

Sarutobi replied, "Wakarimashta." (I understand.)

Just as he said that, the snake himself, clothed in the Kazekage's garments, walked to his seating while being escorted by two sand shinobi.

Sarutobi faced the man from his seat and said, "Look who we have here. Kazekage."

They made some idle talk for a moment but Sarutobi wasn't budging in his politeness. After a few laughs (all of which on Sarutobi's part) the Hokage then stood up and faced the balcony. He took a deep breath before announcing, "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming to Konohagakure's Chuunin Selection exam today." All eyes were either sharpened, or in wide-eyed expectation as the Hokage continued. "We will now begin the main matches with the eight that have passed the preliminaries. Please enjoy the matches."

The Kazekage counted off the heads in the arena below and said, "If there are supposed to be eight, it seems that one is missing."

Sarutobi said nothing as he returned to his seat and Hayate started the instructions. "There are some things I need to tell you before the matches." The sickly nin then pulled out of his pocket a folded piece of paper and then unfolded it for their eyes to see. Naruto didn't marvel knowing what was on it.

The paper showed clearly the line up of the matches with Naruto and Neji as the first fighters, Gaara and Sasuke the second, Kankuro and Shino the third, leaving Shikamaru and Temari as the remainders.

"There's been a change in the line ups." The sickly nin said with a cough at the end. "Please check to see who you are going against."

Shikamaru looked at the paper with surprise. _'I had more matches than others the last time I looked. Did that Dosu guy retire?'_

Naruto then said, "Hey, Sasuke hasn't arrived yet. What happens to his match?"

Hayate replied, "If he doesn't come by the time his match starts, he will be disqualified."

They listened with intent knowing that things still can get ugly. Hayate coughed and said, "Listen up, although the landscape is different, the same rules apply as in the preliminaries; there are no rules. The match will end when someone dies or gives up. I will also stop the match when I decide to do so."

Naruto then took a deep breath as Hayate said, "The first match is Namikaze Naruto and Hyuuga Neji. Everyone else, please return to the waiting room."

The rest marched onward and up the stairs to the waiting room while two other people marched down the stairs to some open seats in one of the boxes.

"Hey Hinata, there are some open seats here." Kiba said as Hinata walked down the steps.

She replied, "Okay." She then sat on Kiba's right side. The dog boy replied with a little excitement in his voice, "I can't wait to see this."

Hinata looked down upon the stadium until she heard the person on her right say, "Don't worry, he'll win the match."

Hinata faced the person and saw a smiling Inoue in a yellow blouse and red shorts. Hinata smiled back and said, "I know he will."

Inoue faced the arena and said in a voice only Hinata could hear, "He's always had a habit of being unpredictable, but in a good way. However, what makes him strong is his heart. And that is what grants him strength." Inoue's words assured and encouraged the Hyuuga Heiress even more than a few hours ago.

Of course, another girl wasn't assured because Sasuke wasn't there yet. Ino then said to the worried pink haired girl, "I understand that you're worried about Sasuke-kun, but why don't you cheer on Naruto a bit."

Sakura replied with a small smile, "Ino, he doesn't need to get cheered. But alright."

Ino faced the arena and said, "Even if he's got an arsenal of jutsu, he won't stand a chance against a guy like Neji."

Two more nins couldn't agree more as Kotetsu and his partner started conversing negatively against the young blonde behind Hinata who was quickly brimming with anger that she mustered to control. Inoue put a reassuring hand on Hinata's right hand and said, "Anything can happen in a fight. Who knows? He could win in the most unpredictable way possible."

Kiba then thought, _'It's just as that lady said. You'll be surprised if you underestimate him gentlemen. He's far too unpredictable to estimate now.'_

Akamaru then whimpered into Kiba's ear. Kiba then looked to the corner behind him and saw a cloaked member of ANBU watching over the match. He then heard another whimper from his loyal charge and thought, _'Why are the ANBU here? Did something happen? And what did he mean by __"__scary ghosts around?__"__'_

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Back on the arena, Neji and Naruto stood opposite the other. Naruto's eyes were burning with emotions and Neji saw this.

"You look like you want to say something." Neji replied with a cool air of arrogance surrounding him.

Naruto kept his concentration. He showed his right fist to Neji and replied, "I told you before, I will win. By this blood she shed, I will win. Don't underestimate a kitsune…Especially one with more than one tail."

Neji activated his** Byakugan **on instinct and began to read Naruto. _'His eyes tell me that he is totally confident in himself. He is not hesitant at all. But at the same time, he is trying to keep himself in check.' _Neji smiled very slightly when he saw Naruto's emotional state._ 'As I expected, he underestimates me and hasn't accepted his fate.'_

The stoic boy took his fighting stance while Naruto simply stood there, with his arms down. Neji then said, "That makes things even better. When you find out the true reality, I will enjoy seeing your discouraged eyes."

Naruto replied coolly, "I pity you…Neji. You can only see what the wind does not blow!"

A gust of wind blew over the stadium as Naruto started channeling reiatsu to his hands and feet. Neji caught wind of this and everyone could see it clearly that Naruto was on fire this time and wasn't going to hold back…or at least that's what it seems.

Hayate said, "Now, let's begin. The first match between Namikaze Naruto and Hyuuga Neji…hajime!"

Naruto then widened his stance a little as Hyuuga Hiashi in his seat said to his daughter beside him, "Watch closely Hanabi. There is no one else who has inherited the **Kekei Genkai** of the Hyuuga as strong as him. Your older sister does not even compare with him."

Hanabi faced him and said, "Even more than onee-san?"

Hiashi replied, "And, most likely, more than you."

Naruto shut his eyes as he thought, _'Kyuubi…the __**Byakugan **__must have a weakness. Do you know anything?'_

The older fox replied, **Think too much and he'll have the upper hand. Just hit him from behind. He can't see what the wind carries.**

Naruto then opened his eyes and with his determination set, he went on the offensive.

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Naruto's Fight

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Naruto quickly reached into his pocket and threw three kunai at Neji. The stoic boy, deflected the first with his right hand causing it to spin, fall and stick to the ground, hilt facing up. He quickly caught the second with same hand and caught the third by the point using the metal ring on the hilt of the kunai. He then held on to the second kunai as he let the last one he caught make a quick revolution and fall harmlessly, sticking into the ground with its hilt up as well.

Taking advantage of Neji's distracted state, Naruto instantly did a **Kawarimi**.

Neji quickly spun around and threw the kunai at Naruto who tried to strike from behind. The young blonde evaded the kunai and continued the charge. Neji saw this coming and thought, _'Predictable. He's as foolish as he looks.'_

But Naruto used reiatsu to empower his feet, increasing his speed. Neji couldn't react fast enough and was roughly shoved by the young blonde to the log he substituted with. Neji saw from his three hundred sixty-degree vision, the log with an exploding tag on it. He leaped out quickly and avoided the explosion. He kept calm as he looked at Naruto who did three, one-handed seals.

Neji was amazed by what Naruto was doing. He didn't expect Naruto to be that strong. But he kept his resolve and thought, _'A powerful idiot, but an idiot nonetheless... I will be able to defeat him easily.'_

When he landed back on the ground, Neji suddenly felt a sharp emptiness in his left leg. It was as if his left leg was no longer there. Naruto charged and swung both his arms down to reveal his hidden kunai and armed them in a reverse grip on both hands.

While he was running to Neji, he thought, _'The trap is set. If you can't find a weakness…then make one!'_

Naruto attacked Neji and swung his blades left and right, up and down to cut up the arrogant boy. Neji, being experienced in close quarter combat, blocked, parried, and dodged every strike made. As Naruto swung his right arm in an arc to cleave Neji's head, the stoic boy tried to step his left leg in to give a palm strike to Naruto's right ribs. However, that empty feeling in his left leg took its toll when he couldn't move it at all. He still tried to strike but was an inch short allowing the excess chakra to graze Naruto who evaded to the left side and give a left side kick to Neji in the right ribs. The stoic boy just moved with the flow of Naruto's attack and made it look like he was hit.

Sakura saw this and said, "He got him!" Unfortunately, she saw the next milliseconds that he wasn't hurt at all disappointing her to no end while Ino looked on impassively.

Neji fell over and made a one-handed handstand into a backflip to quickly get up while Naruto returned his hidden blades and tapped the first of the summoning seals on his wrist. This allowed him to grab two kunai from his sleeves which he then quickly threw at Neji who swatted them down. Both kunai were deflected just slightly to the side, allowing them to stick to the ground with the rings of the kunai facing Neji. One was slightly off balance, the ring facing Neji's left hip, while the other faced his right foot.

Naruto felt the aftershock on his right ribs, despite the attack not hitting him directly. Neji saw the slight change in Naruto's right side and said, "Even a grazing wound will hurt. Now you understand that you have no chance of winning."

Naruto smiled and said, "That was just a test to see how strong you are. The real battle starts now."

Naruto then charged once more to attack Neji who stayed in his unbreakable defense.

Kiba saw this and shouted, "Baka! Doesn't he know that that won't work?"

Sakura got up from her seat and said, "No, Naruto! You're smarter than this. What are you doing?!"

Naruto then jumped midway to Neji to give a leaping, left-leg sidekick to the right side of Neji's face.

Neji then thought, _'He knows that he's clearly outmatched in close quarter combat from the look in his face and his previous actions. All I have to do is move to the right, he'll fall, and then he'll learn that he cannot change his fate. His mistakes in judgment are his undoing.'_

Neji saw the kick coming and tried to shift his weight on his left leg, bend his left hip, and move his right foot as planned, but found that he was unable to and ended up receiving the kick to his face.

The crowd was shocked by what just happened. A hush fell over the crowd and the hit was heard throughout the stadium with slight echo. Nearly everyone present was shocked, especially, Hyuuga Hiashi, who thought in disbelief, _'He was hit in the face?__!__ And by such an obvious attack pattern!'_

Ishida knew what Naruto had done and thought, _'Naruhodo. (I see.) He's using Neji's pride and strength against him and filling the gaps with his own strengths. That boy there doesn't stand a chance if he's as blind as Naruto just said he is.'_

Neji was sent skidding to the side and stopped just in front of one of Naruto's fallen kunai, the empty ring facing him. The stoic boy thought as he opened his eyes, _'How?__!__ How was he able to hit me?' _as he got up, he continued to think. _'That empty feeling before I froze in my left leg__...__ right foot and left hip. It must be the reason he was able to attack me__...__ but how did I get paralyzed in those areas?'_

Neji then took his stance again, despite the numbing pain in his left leg, hip, and right foot. However, as he faced Naruto and took his stance, he accidentally tipped over the kunai stuck to the ground: now behind him. When he tripped, and tipped it over by accident, the numbing pain in his left leg subsided.

Neji sharpened his gaze and calmly stated, "I see. Those kunai you threw weren't just for testing me."

Naruto took a fighting stance and said, "Sou desu. (That's right.) **Mukaze no jutsu**. It allows me to burn your chakra field whichever way the kunai faces. Even at long distances."

Shikamaru from the stands thought about what Naruto just said. _'Burning his chakra field? Of course. Every living object emits a chakra signature. Shinobi tend to emit more because of their training so they must struggle to keep it from being sensed by other shinobi. So then the real question is _how_ did he burn Neji's chakra?'_

Neji gave a cold gaze at the young blonde and said, "Your jutsu is effective as long as I am within range. I still have the upper hand." _'How did he use the kunai to burn the chakra field I'm emiting? If he can create a hole in my vision, I'll be in a disadvantage. I have to take him down quickly.'_

Naruto replied as he did a one handed seal, "We'll see. **Kage Bunshin no jutsu**!"

Five clones were formed around him and the crowd looked on in amusement as Sakura thought, _'Smart move Naruto. Now you have an advantage.'_

Hinata looked on with confidence in her heart. _'Naruto-kun…You can beat him. You have him trapped with your first move.'_

Rukia said as she looked, "He'll win for sure now."

Kotetsu smirked. "What an interesting guy."

"The **Kage Bunshin no jutsu** is a Jounin level technique." Izumo added. "I didn't know he could use it."

"Now we don't know who will win." Kotetsu finished.

Neji kept his stance as his **Byakugan **looked through Naruto and his clones. _'__**Kage Bunshin**__? I see. If the chakra is distributed equally among the replications…even my __**Byakugan **__cannot tell which is the real one.' _"But there is only one real one. Come if you wish."

Naruto then charged with his clones in tow. Naruto lagged back while the first two clones attacked head on only for Neji to leap over them. The other two tried to attack from both sides, only for Neji to parry them to the other side. Naruto and his remaining clone attacked next. The original came at him from the front and gave a flurry of attacks. Neji parried and dodged his move. When the stoic boy tried to give a palm strike to Naruto's left armpit, the young blonde ducked allowing his clone to make a handstand on his back and give several kicks the way a break-dancer would. Neji fended off the strikes until he was kicked in the face and sent back where he was caught. One of the clones caught him by the left hand and threw him into the air to another clone who was about to give a haymaker to the stoic boy, only for Neji to spin in the air and give a sharp kick to the face of the clone, causing him to disperse, but that was not enough.

When he landed, the other four clones attacked. While one punched, another kicked, and the last two aimed for strikes from below. Neji parried the attacks and struck back with palm strikes of his own to the chest of one, the shoulder of the other, the stomach of a third, and the neck of the last, causing them to all disperse.

Neji then faced Naruto and said, "Become Hokage, eh? You can't like this. I can figure out a lot of things with these eyes. Your talent is determined when you're born. In other words, _everything_ is predetermined at birth."

Naruto replied, "I don't believe in predetermined destiny. Your destiny is what you make it. Not what is handed to you. I'll prove it, Neji."

Naruto then did another one-handed seal and said, "**Kage Bunshin no jutsu!**"

Now twenty clones surrounded him. When all where in gear, the one-man army surrounded and attacked Neji.

Two clones came from above and below. Neji shifted his weight to his right leg and jumped, giving a left kick to the one above and used the momentum to land on the one below, giving a snappy, pinpoint-strike to the chest before leaping off. The stoic boy then maneuvered through the beautiful chaos with evident practice, ducking and spinning, avoiding the fist of yet another clone behind him. With his left leg in between the legs of the clone, he spun his body upward while giving a left backfist to the clone's chin. This caused him to flip over before dispersing, allowing Neji a temporary shield and time to step his right foot over his left and give a quick set of punches to the next clone in range.

Neji ducked, dodged and gave smooth flowing punches, leaping over more clones, causing the once organized attack pattern of Naruto to fall apart.

Neji paused for a moment and said, "I _told_ you that I'm not that stupid." He then ran quickly, glancing over a stationary clone in the back, _'I already know which one is the real one.'_

Neji ran to the clone in the back and with a swift stab with his outstretched right hand, he pierced the left breast of the clone.

Hinata gasped a little as she saw what occurred.

Neji kept the attack in place as he calmly mocked the surprised clone, "The one who attacked the least because he feared his tenketsu would be hit…the more you attacked me, the more that one stood out. _You're_ the real one."

Then all the clones dispersed into smoke, including the one Neji hit, shocking the stoic boy from his concealed triumphant attitude.

Neji looked around and saw that the smoke left by the clones where still present. He then heard the real Naruto say, "**Ninpou, Kuchiyose, Fuuton, Tsuiga no jutsu!**"

The smoke surrounding Neji then swirled around him like a tornado before engulfing him. The crowd simply marveled in awe at what they saw. Shikamaru, who had been running scenarios in his head impossibly fast before, saw this and said, "...Oi! What's going on?"

Kiba chuckled and said, "Yahoo! Now _there's_ the Naruto we know."

Hinata's thoughts were on the words Naruto had just spoken and suddenly went wide-eyed at what she heard. _'Oh no! he's using a summoning technique. Then that means…'_

A sickening crunch sound was heard and the released smoke formed over Neji's arms, legs, and shoulders. But when the smoke receded completely, it revealed six, wolf-sized kitsunes of different color with their fangs already deeply within Neji's limbs and shoulders.

Neji looked at the foxes with a grimace and said, "These are…"

Naruto was standing a few feet in front of him. The young blonde said to the pinned Hyuuga, "That's right... I warned you about underestimating a kitsune."

Everyone that witnessed this was shocked beyond belief. They could not believe their eyes. At first thought that they were just dogs or wolves, but when they noticed that most of them had more than one tail, they were confused.

Neji then said as he struggled to get free, "Impossible!?! I have never heard of a summoning contract with foxes!"

Naruto replied, "Wait till you hear my life story. Maybe then you'll think about how there's no such thing as impossible. Kakashi-sensei has a contract with dogs, so foxes aren't so bad."

The crowd that heard this began to murmur between themselves, others watched in interest, and even fewer were vocalizing their confusion. Renji took note and said to himself, "Bringing out the big stuff is much more interesting. What will you do now, Naruto?"

Naruto paid the rants no heed, although some of his friends were confused by just _why_ the crowd was suddenly alive with mild panic and confusion. Eventually, Sarutobi then stood up and shouted, "Enough! Let the match continue." He looked to the box seat where the feudal lords sat. It was obvious he was looking for assurance in his decision. The feudal lords were a bit concerned, and justly so, but when Hikaru nodded at Sarutobi, the feudal lords did the same. The crowd quieted down a little after this, allowing the match to continue as scheduled.

The young blonde then said to Neji, "It's pretty easy to sneak up on you when you have holes in your sight."

Neji's eyes widened despite the pain as Naruto replied, "It isn't hard when the first jutsu I used is still active. You were still in the range of my jutsu before I activated this one…"

"What?!" Neji mumbled in pain. Naruto then used the wind around him and started hovering, three inches off the ground, surprising everyone, including Orochimaru. The young blonde looked back at Neji, "The first jutsu can burn your chakra field at long ranges because it's medium is wind."

Shikamaru then thought, _'I understand. The __**Byakugan **__is able to see in a three hundred sixty degree range and Naruto knew that from the start. He couldn't beat him if Neji could see him. So he found a way to break his line of sight by creating holes in his vision so that he can sneak in. But knowing Naruto, it's more than just breaking in.'_

Naruto then pulled out five kunai from his pocket. But what was strange was that they were glowing blue. The young blonde replied, "These were the kunai that I used awhile ago. The first jutsu not only drains your chakra using the wind. It also stores it along _with_ the wind element."

The five kunai then started spinning around in the air and then around his wrist in a fan like, counter-clockwise motion.

Izumo was shocked. "Another wind based jutsu? ...Is he a wind elemental?"

The Kazekage in his seat then said, "I've never seen a shinobi who uses wind like that. There's a lot of talent in Konoha." _'__...__A little too much in fact.'_

Sarutobi didn't reply but he was surprised as well. In the private boxes however, the feudal lords looked on in amusement. Hikaru was pleased and said, "Looks like we will be having a party later."

Naruto then did five one-handed seals with his left hand, causing the spinning kunai to spin even faster. The wind started sucking in his right hand and it picked up fast enough that dust and stray leaves started to gather into the mini torrent in his right hand. Naruto then charged up his fist and said, "Neji, the wind always blows things away. But when it does the reverse, it hurts even more."

Ino then said, "What a powerful jutsu. I can feel it from here. Neji is a sitting duck."

Sakura nodded and swallowed. "Naruto…is just too unpredictable."

Neji wasn't finished yet. He channeled his chakra into body and spun wildly creating the **Kaiten**. The jutsu roughly brushed the foxes aside causing them to fly out and each one disappeared back to the world they came from. Hyuuga Hiashi was shocked beyond belief. He suddenly said, "That is…"

Hinata then said, "**Hakkeshou Kaiten**. He's using a jutsu only passed down to the main family to defeat Naruto. By releasing chakra from the tenketsus in his entire body and spinning like a top, he creates an absolute defense."

Inoue replied resolutely, "Even a shield has its breaking point. I'm sure Naruto will find a weakness."

Then Kiba spoke up, "You have a lot of faith in him. But that idiot _is_ surprisingly smart so he probably _does_ know how to defeat that jutsu."

Naruto gazed at Neji and said with unwavering determination, "Your shield of pride has its limits. I will show you those limits."

Neji gazed hard at Naruto with his vein-throbbing eyes while the crater he left started clearing of the dust. "Naruto, do you really think you can defeat me? You are in the range of my divination."

Naruto replied before gliding to Neji, "I won't give up. I will win!"

Neji saw the young blonde coming and just the fact that he was gliding in the air was surprising enough, but the fact that he was moving exceedingly fast as well was even more surprising. He had no choice. He channeled his chakra and said, "**Kaiten!"**

Naruto spoke just before he shoved the mini tornado at Neji, "**Fuuton, Hae!**"

The absolute attack clashed with the absolute defense. The **Kaiten **continued to blow chakra and wind while the vacuum whirlwind pressed on further in its sucking power. Naruto pushed hard and had successfully broken through the **Kaiten**. Hiashi Hyuuga was amazed and could not believe his eyes. The main family's most powerful skill was recreated by someone of the branch family without any knowledge of its existence! But to make matters more confusing, an attack created by an absolute nobody broke through _it and_ its heralded tradition!

The attack's collision sent both Neji and Naruto sailing back a few meters. Neji nearly hit the wall, but managed to re-align himself with the ground just before his **Byakugan **deactivated.

Naruto, on the other hand, flew back a fair distance and regained his balance in the air before landing back down on solid ground. The kunai that once hovered around his right hand had disintegrated with the torrent it formed.

If one would look now, they would see a small crater, almost six inches deep with a blast groove facing the young blonde, in the middle of the two combatants.

Hinata was astonished. "Sugoi! He defeated the **Kaiten**! Naruto-kun broke through it."

Kiba had his mouth agape. "Sugoi…he broke through with ease."

Sakura and Ino were speechless as was Tenten in the stands who thought in bewilderment, _'Neji worked hard on creating that shield, and Naruto defeated his ultimate defense! Neji…now what will you do?'_

However, not everyone was surprised by the ability the young blonde showed. Shikamaru found something odd, _'Nothing makes sense. He's fighting with a little more finesse because his opponent is on a different level, and it looks like he's waiting for something... but what?'_

Naruto then shook his head and muttered, disapproving of his actions, "That was a little too much." _'Neji is lucky that jutsu I used is only half of the _real_ jutsu.'_

Naruto once again hovered three inches off the ground and skated towards Neji. The stoic boy however saw this coming and smiled a little despite the fact that his chakra reserves were low.

When Naruto was in range to strike, so was Neji.

"This is it," Said the stoic boy with a barely-contained smirk, "You are within the range of my divination."

Naruto suddenly hesitated as Neji's **Byakugan **reengaged. The stoic boy saw the Taoist symbol of the field in his mind and crouched in a way so that his left arm pointed towards Naruto, and his right arm faced the air. The stance was so that his entire left side faced Naruto and the young blonde knew this move. But at the speed he was moving towards the stoic boy, it was unavoidable.

Neji suddenly shouted, "**Hakke, Rokujuyonshou!**"

Hiashi panicked. "Is he going to…"

Neji then spun in place and narrowly avoided Naruto's fist as he planted three fingers from his right hand at the middle of Naruto's collarbone and at the same time three fingers from his left hand at the young blonde's waist. Those were the first two strikes.

"Four strikes!" Neji declared as he struck the left shoulder, left breast, right breast, and solar plexus in quick succession.

"Eight strikes!" the stoic boy continued and made the stated pinpoint strikes to the upper body and thighs of the young blonde.

"Sixteen strikes!" Was the next cry of Neji as he gave the barrage of chakra-induced strikes to Naruto's tenketsu.

"Thirty two strikes!" was the next command. Naruto was no longer in control of the wind underneath him and was now lifted in the air by the striking strength of Neji.

"Sixty four strikes!" Yelled Neji as he gave the last wave of attacks to the young blonde. This time, Naruto was sent back flying a few feet away from Neji. But at the end of the attack, Neji's **Byakugan** deactivated, and he fell to his knees.

Izumo suddenly said, "He must be on his last leg. Doing a successive number of taijutsu combinations is really taxing to your body and chakra reserves."

Gekko Hayate was about to call the match when Naruto slowly got up. Though groggily.

Neji gave him a cold stare of triumph as he steadily got up, though the drain on his chakra and body was noticeable. He said, "I have hit all sixty-four tenketsus in your body. You cannot stand up anymore. Doing so now will kill you." Naruto didn't reply as he fell to his knees, assuring Neji of his place as the stoic boy said, "Mortifying, isn't it? You are on your knees against a power you cannot face, finding out how truly powerless you are. It is only an illusion that hard work makes dreams come true."

Naruto smiled at him though the bruises were clearly seen. Deterred, he was not. In fact, he was stronger than before and Neji was taken aback as the young blonde got up and stood straight.

"It can't be. This can't be…" Neji said in shock.

Naruto replied with a smile, "I told you, don't underestimate a kitsune. I can surprise you in more ways than one... And I don't give up so easily."

Neji said impassively, "Stop fighting. It's going to be the same even if you continue. I have no grudge against you."

Naruto replied, "_I do_, however. You hurt Hinata…even though you're stronger than her, your eyes say that you're weaker than a lowlife. You mentally attacked Hinata when she was trying her best!"

Neji replied, "This has nothing to do with you."

Naruto said, "It does! She's my friend! She's someone precious to me and I won't back down when my friends are hurt. Even if the one who hurt them shares the same fate."

Neji was confused by what he said. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto replied with concerned eyes, "I know about the bird cage seal. I know about why you are so mad at her family. Yes, you went through all that pain but that doesn't give you the right to step on others! Don't become one of them! Accept the fact that despite how unfair life is, _you_ can _change it!_ You have to stop running away and start facing your problems. Don't give up so easily!"

Neji frowned as his hatred suddenly flooded out when he said, "You can never truly know the pain of my fate! The fear of death that the main family gives to the branch family is worse than you can think. This cursed seal will only disappear after my death…and it seals up the **Byakugan** ability. It was the most efficient way of keeping the secrets of the **Byakugan Kekei Genkai **sealed away forever, and my father died in the place of Hiashi-sama to avert a war between Konoha and Kumo! It was an unjust price to avert a war all because they wanted the secrets of the **Byakugan **so badly. When they failed to kidnap Hinata-sama, they asked for Hiashi-sama's dead body. But Hiashi wasn't the one given. It was his role, but he was spared sacrifice. It was MY FATHER who had to pay the price of the fate given to him. The fate given to me. So instead, my father took his place all because it was his fate."

Naruto steeled his heart as he thought, _'Once again, the threat of death…what is with these people and the fear of dying? Don't they see that death is just the beginning? Then again__...__ I feared death once__,__ so I shouldn't think that way.'_

Neji regained his awareness and focused his renewed anger and pride on Naruto when he said, "Your fate says that you will lose to me. That... I can guarantee."

Naruto retorted, "Sorry but you already rattled my ears with that last attack, so all I'm hearing is you crying about a problem you can't seem to solve alone. If that's the case, then we can help you." Naruto makes a gesture implying the people of Konoha around them. "I too shed a lot of tears and I do know what it feels like. After this match, we can cry together. Now isn't the time to close these doors. I'm trying to help you here."

Neji shook his head and said, "You are pathetic."

The stoic boy then rushed at Naruto and gave him a strong juken blow to the stomach, forcing Naruto to fly a little and fall on his back.

Neji fell to his kees once more and thought, _'I drained too much chakra. I should still have more than enough energy to fight the next matches. So why am I so winded? But at least it's over.' _"Examiner, It's over." He said to the standing Gekko Hayate.

Naruto stood up again and said, "Sorry, but a coward's attack is weak. I won't give up. Hinata never gave up despite her suffering and nor should you. I won't let you walk away without a fist to your chin to wake you up."

Neji replied, "You know nothing. Your sixty-four tenketsus are closed. What can you possibly do?"

Sakura then thought, _'That's right. How will Naruto fight without chakra?'_

Hinata looked on and noticed something odd. She looked a bit harder and saw that Naruto was slowly fading into the wind…literally. She then remembered something vital and smiled. Kiba then asked her, "What's up?"

Hinata replied, "Naruto-kun has already won."

Naruto said to Neji, "It's over. You've lost. In truth, you've been fighting the wind. You can't cut something intangible…sayonara."

With that, Naruto faded into the wind. Neji was shocked._'No seals-'_ But before he could react, the original Naruto suddenly appeared beside Neji's left side. Neji saw him in the corner of his eye but it was too late, even to blink when Naruto gave him a right uppercut to his chin. This sent Neji into the air. While he was still in mid-air, Naruto pulled him by the left foot with his right hand and yanked him down for Naruto to give a square solid punch to his face with his left fist. Neji crashed into the ground face up and with a sickening crunch that could only be a bone cracking. His impact caused, a large crack to occur on where he fell. Depleted of his strength, and more importantly, chakra, Neji sank into the ground, too weakened to move, as if lifeless.

The crowd was stunned by what they saw. What just happened?

Neji said from his groggy and drained state, "How?" he looked to where the examiner was standing and saw that he wasn't there. And to clarify things even better, the real Gekko Hayate appeared from one of the trees.

"The aftershock of that wind attack was strong enough that I was blown to the tree branches. What happened?"

Neji tried to put things together and asked, "How? When did you…"

Naruto replied, "When you fought my second wave of clones, I made a **Kawarimi** with one of my specially made clones—the **Kaze Bunshin.** Everyone was so engrossed in our battle that they forgot that my first jutsu was still active and I used half of the chakra I absorbed from you to create him and then switched with him to watch how things went from the bushes."

Neji was dumbfounded as well as everyone. Naruto continued his explanation. "I knew that it wasn't enough to drain you a little, so I had to take it all the way so that you wouldn't be able to get up at all. My clone wore you out and the only reason I didn't attack you from behind was because your **Byakugan **was still active. So when I saw that the referee was knocked out, I made a **henge **and took his place at the moment."

Ino then said, "He beat him without really having to try!"

Sakura nodded and said, "His tactical skills are umm... well beyond average. Even during our Genin Exam with Kakashi-sensei, he really pulled it off. Sugoi."

Neji then said, "I see now. Your favorite shinobi jutsu, eh? I was careless."

Naruto replied, "Save your strength. You're out of chakra. I didn't get this jutsu by chance. I failed three times in the academy finals. Unluckily, the shinobi jutsu that was given in the finals was always the shinobi jutsu that I hated the most. The **Bunshin no jutsu** was the move I sucked at." Neji was at a loss for words from his prone state. Though he was fading into unconsciousness, he still had enough strength to hear Naruto.

The young blonde continued. "Stop complaining about fate and saying how it can't be changed. You're different from me. You aren't a dropout."

Gekko Hayate knew what to say now. "I declare Namikaze Naruto as the winner of the first match."

The crowds cheered on as Naruto looked to the blue sky and say, "There's an old saying…_'Ao wa ai yori idete ai yori aoshi__.'_(Blue comes from indigo, yet it is bluer than indigo.) It means that the student will always succeed the master. If fate has become your master, then as the student, exceed it. Because fate can only teach you so much until you become something more. Remember that Neji…"

And with those final words, Neji's consciousness fades to black.

Inoue cheered on along with the crowd and said with a happy voice, "Yosha! Naruto-kun won!"

Hinata smiled and said, "Congratulations Naruto-kun!"

The young blonde looked to the stand where Hinata was and thought, _'I won Hina-hime. But this time, I did this for you.'_

Naruto then moved up to the waiting room where Shikamaru said, "You really never run out of surprises."

Naruto replied, "Well, that's what its like when you're the underdog." _'Good thing I didn't tell Neji that I used reiatsu to use my jutsus. If he found out that the reason he's drained of chakra is because of the reiatsu based clone he's been hitting and my half formed assassination jutsu, I'd never hear the end of it.'_

Back in the stands, Renji said to himself, "Che. He's finally gotten what he wanted. But that was amazing." _'I got fired up after all that. I can't wait to fight the Oto nins and the hollows.'_

Sakura frowned a little as she thought, _'He's gotten stronger again. It's like he grows up everyday. I'm envious of you now. When I see you fight, it makes me think that I should try my best too. That's an amazing thing.'_

The medic nins then hauled Neji back into the first aid room where Hyuuga Hiashi waited on him. The moment the medic nins left the unconscious Neji on one of the beds, Hiashi asked them to leave and closed the door, leaving Neji with Hiashi.

However, someone else was also in that room. Tokage, in Oto-nin gear and a gas mask, awaited in one of the corners behind the white curtains where she had her chance to act upon this fragile moment.

Hiashi looked upon the unconscious genin and remembered the real reason for Hizashi's death. Looking at his nephew was a reminder of that day.

Hiashi pulled out a scroll from his hand and looked at it with deep sorrow. But as he contemplated with the old memoir, he suddenly was grabbed from behind and thrown to the floor. He didn't have time to react as his body became paralyzed while Tokage straddled him.

She said to him with a calm yet confident voice, "**Ninpou, Sasori no Houyou**. Thanks to your well developed chakra coils, the poison's effect worked efficiently."

Hiashi tried to wiggle out but found that every time he tried to move his muscles, he felt even more pain in his body than before. Tokage then placed her left hand on his chest and said, "The more you struggle, the faster the poison reacts to your metabolism. I want to make this as easy as possible."

Hiashi felt the venom suck his life dry as he asked with a raspy voice, "How dare you! What do you want from me?" but then it occurred in his mind a plausible reason which he asked to confirm. "Are you here to steal my eyes and the secrets of the **Byakugan**?"

Tokage replied, "I don't have any use for your eyes. But your life is mine."

Hiashi wasn't shocked with what he heard. However he was shocked when Tokage leaned in from her straddled position and grabbed his face with both hands as her face came in closer to his. The only thing hindering her face and his was her mask.

The normally stoic shinobi then said, "Do I make you nervous? I'm nervous too. It's my first time to kiss a man. But it will be your last. Want to try it out? A kiss of farewell?"

She then lifted her mask to reveal her coy face. Though her sharp, green eyes whispered 'cold killer', her pretty face and slight, coy smile said otherwise. She had a slight blush to her face as she moved in for the kiss of a lifetime. But before she could kiss him goodbye, the door to the room was kicked open and Ishida fired an arrow of reiatsu at the assassin. Tokage quickly leaped out of the way and threw a paper talisman at Ishida. The Quincy fired a volley of three arrows in defense but the talisman sudden glowed and deflected the arrows back at him. He strafed to the left and avoided the deflected arrows by leaning at the wall near the doorway. But doing so, allowed Tokage to rush out and leap out of one of the nearby windows in the hallway and outside into the village below. Ishida quickly moved to the open window, aimed and made a precise shot at the falling figure that was the assassin. The arrow homed in struck her at the back of her head. However, she suddenly transformed into a monitor lizard that splattered into the ground outside the arena.

"A **Kawarimi**." Ishida said. He then rushed to Hiashi's side and tried to help him up as he asked, "Daijobu desu ka?(Are you alright?)"

Hiashi was sweating as he struggled to get up but the pain was unbearable and he fell to his knees. The stoic man then said, "That woman is from Otogakure. I need to inform Hokage-sama."

Ishida replied, "I don't think so. By the looks of it, you've been poisoned. It looks like its fast acting as well. I'll get the medics and inform Hokage-sama for you. Stay here and don't move."

Ishida then helped him up and laid him to rest on the second bed in the room before rushing out to warn the Hokage.

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Back in the private boxes where the fake Kazekage sat, guarded by two sand shinobi, Sarutobi contemplated on whether he should act or not. He had the upper hand. Even if relations should fail between Suna and Konoha, things would be different now. He knew what he should do and why he should do it. Yet there was this feeling in his heart that kept him from striking at his student.

Orochimaru then broke the silence. "The crowd is noisy."

Sarutobi replied as he looked at the arena, "That was a nice battle."

Orochimaru looked to Sarutobi and said, "Yes, that too but…the next match is something the head ninja and the feudal lords are highly anticipating."

Sarutobi looked a bit distraught at the thought but he knew he shouldn't falter lest he makes a mistake. The old Hokage then thought, _'Although an early attack was the best idea at the time, but now…things are playing right into his hands and furthermore, we are facing an unknown threat in ours. Orochimaru has Konoha hostage. There are hollows at our doorstep and a mastermind behind them. I couldn't send Naruto alone and we are facing a battlefield even bigger than us. In the end, time is repeating itself. History cannot truly change…'_

Orochimaru then said, "By the way, I did not see him at the opening ceremony, but he is already here, correct?"

Sarutobi replied, "Hai." But his guard then whispered in his ear, "We still have not located Sasuke. And there is the Orochimaru thing. Perhaps we should disqualify him before everyone causes an uproar."

But back in the stands, people _were_ in an uproar. The team of Ichigo were starting to get annoyed by the crowd but couldn't do anything to shut them up at this point.

Ino and Sakura were worried with what was happening. Sasuke hasn't shown up yet making the blonde girl say, "What happened? Is Sasuke-kun here for the next match?"

In the private balcony of the contestants, Shikamaru said as he looked at the crowd, "What's that guy doing? Is he planning not to come?"

Shino, aloof as always, replied, "A wise man keeps away from danger. He made a good decision."

Naruto then laughed a bit and said, "What are you talking about? He'll definitely come. He's the type of guy who'll take the stage without knowing how cool he looks and realize how awesome he is."

Gaara then looked at Naruto with his cold green eyes. The young blonde looked back and saw the sadness in the jinchuriki's permanent frown. There was a tense atmosphere between the two and Shikamaru noticed it.

In fact, the tense atmosphere sparked an idea in his head. The lazy genius then quietly asked Naruto, "Hey, who are you, really?"

Naruto smiled at the lazy genius and said, "Namikaze Naruto. It's all in my name."

Shikamaru shook his head and said, "I know about the three-pronged kunai. Although I didn't make it to the bet, I know that it was a jutsu of a great shinobi."

Naruto nodded and said, "So you know its history and use."

The lazy genius eyed him and said, "However, how is it that you know of a jutsu that was long gone along with its creator when he died thirteen years ago?"

Shino suddenly paid attention to the two boys' conversation amidst the rallied cries of the crowd. Naruto showed no hint of fear amidst Shikamaru's well pointed question.

The lazy genius kept a steel gaze at the young blonde. "Naruto…you have connections with people who have powers beyond anyone's imagination. And they have a relation with all the events going on around us. And then there are spirits known as hollows underneath Konoha…"

Naruto paid attention and thought, _'He's finally figured it out. Using only small pieces of information and cold clues, he's finally adding everything up. That's Konoha's brain for you.'_

Shikamaru continued his deduction. "You left a good trail but no one could follow it because it lead to something too improbable to understand."

Shino suddenly asked, "And what would that be?"

The crowd rioted so loudly that only those three boys heard when Shikamaru said, "Naruto, are you…a shinigami?"

Events unfolded in more ways than one. And for Naruto, that posed question made things evidently harder for him as secrets reveal themselves in unexpected ways. As the war begun with a small skirmish, so the battlefield is set in The Chunin Exams.

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Phew! I finished this chapter. Although I feel like I got something wrong though.

Barkeep: You got a message from your mentor. (Hands a small, folded piece of paper to me.)

What could it be? (Opens the note and begins reading it aloud.)

"Dear Le loup de Kaiser,

Your story is doing very well but there are some things I'd like to point out.

Firstly, you got the characters personalities wrong. Not all of them though. Just a few. You are 80% correct so don't worry. But since your story has gotten this far already, just continue on. Don't panic. You have to get rid of that habit of panicking or else you will never learn.

Second, make your chapters shorter so it's easier to read. It will also be easier for you. This is my only real complaint.

Finally, add another twist. Your satirical elements and black comedy will get tiresome if you overdo it. Make something unexpected like Naruto becoming a hero again. (You can make him a hero again. It's not impossible. Don't get frustrated.)

I hope I was helpful to you. Please do the suggestions, not try. (May the Force be with you… XD)

-Akara ne"

Barkeep: (raises an eyebrow.) Your mentor is really pushy. But somehow I want to believe him for some reason.

That's my mentor for you. SHE, is very persuasive. She's like a female version of Canon Naruto.

Barkeep: Whatyda mean?

Imagine your long lost crush, Tenma Tsukamoto. (Barkeep nods) Now imagine her with an IQ of 182 and can read a person accurately just by how they write alone. WITH EASE.

Barkeep: (Jawdrops)

That's only the tip of the iceberg. By meeting you, she'd be able to also know your next actions, why you do them, and dig out your lifestory. What's even scarier is that she is very charismatic as well as persuasive. It doesn't help that she's 90% correct most of the time.

Barkeep: People like that actually exist?! But Tenma…(Thinks deeply)With that personality(Thinks even harder and sweats)…That's insane!

Good thing she doesn't use her charisma to take over a small country. (With her, it's possible. Seriously.) I'm glad she's into helping people. (I hope she didn't see her message pasted here) She's book smart and street smart though she tends to play dumb to catch people off guard making her unpredictable. Ya, I know. My Naruto sounds the same. Actually, that's the whole point. I based Naruto a little bit from her so that I can prove that a person like Naruto can also be book-smart making him a dangerous person to mess with…Now I have the perfect villain in mind!

Barkeep: Hey! Wrap it up! And can you get me her number? I need help in my love life.

Ahh, why not. It'll be like watching Dr. Phil seeing you get advice from her. Now I'm hungry for pizza. Do you got any on the menu?

Barkeep: Gave the last slice for tonight to that creep over there.(Points at a man in a red trenchcoat with white hair and a guitar case under his table.)

Hey! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the other fic I'm working on!

Dante: You haven't even signed me up yet. My contract said I don't get paid if I don't have screentime. What's a show without the star?

Yeah, about that…you know what, who gives a damn? Let's just end this chapter. I'll fix that contract of yours later.

I'll work my butt off on the next chapter. Jaa matta.

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**Fuuton, Mukaze no jutsu(Wind release, Zero wind technique)- **a wind technique that uses kunai as a medium to create a vacuum line. Whatever opponent gets caught in that vacuum line, their chakra gets sucked by the vacuum line and it is stored into the kunai.

**Fuuton, Hae(Wind release, South Wind)- **a wind jutsu that consists of a tornado on the arm where it is channeled. Its sucking power is its source of strength and takes away any defenses the target has.

**Ninpou, Sasori no Houyou(ninja art, Scorpion's Embrace)- **a paralysis technique using poison from a mere touch of the skin. It rapidly infects the opponent by attacking the chakra coils through the tenketsus of the opponent. The faster the metabolism, the faster it infects. The potency of the poison increases when the victim moves.


	26. Perfect Insanity

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: (Runs in with a script in the right hand and laptop in the left.) Konnichiwa! I'm sorry I took too long again.

Barkeep: You said it would be out soon. Why update now? What's wrong with you? You're beginning to piss me off.

I rewrote the script five times before I finally got what I wanted. When the pressure gets to you, things happen and they aren't always pretty.

Barkeep: (Grumbles) As long as its out, we're fine. You better keep your promises and DON'T BE LATE! I don't want another battle in my bar.

I got it. (Places the script and laptop behind the counter and unloads the backpack full of ammunition.) We have MP5 magazines, AK-47 Sickle type magazines, Pistol clips for a Desert Eagle, Carbine clips and Dragunov clips. Don't worry. They're all sleeping rounds. It's better to be prepared after all. I'll go barricade the doors and windows while you bring out the flashbangs and stink bombs.

Barkeep: Sheesh. I'm going to kick you out after this.

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu**  
_**'Kyuubi Thinking'**_

**Chapter 26**

_**Perfect Insanity**_

With the letter of truth now unfolding…

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The time of awakening has come. The air was thick with sound within the stadium of Konoha and everyone's hearts were set on the next exciting match to come in the Final Exam of the Chunin Exams. Events like these happen only once in a blue moon and never in the same place so today was something special and the excitement could be heard by the impatient crowds that jeered for the next match to come. However, not everyone was in high enthusiasm as three boys in the balcony of the waiting room were having a deep conversation on the identity of the blonde one known as Naruto.

The crowd rioted so loudly that only those three boys heard when Shikamaru said, "Naruto, are you…a shinigami?"

All of the remaining participants heard what Shikamaru said and looked at Naruto with mild interest. Naruto looked down at the remaining crowd before comically facing them and smiling devilishly as he said, "And what if I am?"

Shikamaru frowned and said, "It is the only logical explanation and the most plausible answer. No one else has access to abilities long before your own birth aside from the Sandaime and those who survived the last Shinobi War. The jutsu itself was lost with its creator so any other means of learning it from the survivors is impossible. The only other means to learn it would be from the creator himself but because he is dead, you need to access the other side. It just happens that the medics from the last preliminary matches have a deep understanding of spirits like the hollows and have a connection with you. From what I've understood, the reason you have that jutsu and other unusual jutsus is because you already accessed the other side long before your associates arrived and they are here to act as a constant connection between this world and the next."

Shino heard this clearly and thought, _'So that is what is happening. I've always had my suspicions about Naruto with the way he has been acting lately. But now it is clear that he is not what we can see right now.'_

Naruto was surprised with what he heard. He knew Shikamaru would catch up quickly but he didn't know he would catch up this fast. The young blonde was caught speechless by his wide-eyed surprise.

The lazy genius started to become confident in his theory after seeing Naruto's expression of perplexed fear. Shikamaru spoke once again. "Even if you accessed the other side recently, to master a jutsu of that caliber would mean that you would need time beyond six months. The time of arrival of the new medic-nins gives you three months short of what you need to at least use the jutsu properly. But the fact that you can use it in more ways than it was originally intended means that you've mastered it even longer than the minimal requirement. Am I right so far?"

Naruto replied with a smile, "You really are interesting Shikamaru. You have confidence in the theory you made from the little inconsistencies yet you ask me if you are right. I expected this much."

Shikamaru was wide-eyed this time and Shino raised his eyebrows. Shikamaru asked a little hesitantly, "What do you mean?"

Naruto replied, "I knew from the start that you'd catch up very fast. A little inconsistent, but right there at the end. But how far are you willing to follow me?"

Shikamaru was confused at this point but he was able to reflect and think, _'I've been following the momentum of his strategy all along. He left those trails knowing I would follow him. I've made the most basic of errors and fell for such an obvious trap.'_

Naruto replied, "Are you curious of seeing what its like on the other side Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru stared at Naruto not knowing where he is getting at yet curious of his words. The young blonde lent out a hand to him and said with a sharp yet confident look, "How about we go there to see this world that has caught your gaze so intently."

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Back in the box where Sarutobi was seated, the old Hokage gave some thought upon Sasuke's arrival and was let down by the decision he has to make this time. He replies to the shinobi attendant, "I have no choice. Sasuke is disqualified."

The disguised Orochimaru looked at Sarutobi and replied, "Uchiha, Sasuke is disqualified?"

Sarutobi faced him and said, "I must."

"Why?" said a voice that was familiar to the master and student. They turned around and saw Hikaru there, with his two personal guards beside him in their normal attire with Tokage on his right and Polgas on his left.

Both Sarutobi and the fake Kazekage were surprised that he was there. And furthermore, he slipped passed them completely unnoticed. Before any of the two could speak, Hikaru replied, "The feudal lords came far and wide to watch the Chunin Exams that only happens as often as a festival to the gods. I don't think they want to see a sudden change in schedule after that last match."

The fake Kazekage replied, "He is right you know. If they find out that he has forfeited, we will lose the respect of the crowd and both our standings as Hidden Villages would drop."

Sarutobi replied with keen eyes, "So what do you propose?"

The fake Kazekage replied as he looked at the arena below. "Postpone his match. As long as he hasn't arrived, then the matches will continue."

Sarutobi thought about Orochimaru's words, _'So it has come to that. Even now he still seeks the power of the __**Sharingan**__. And with Hikaru-sama backing his decision, I have to comply. He's moving very carefully and there are no signs of him attacking meaning his goal has remained and we are moving in his pace. I just have to be a little more patient.'_

He sighed and replied, "Very well then. We will put his match on hold and wait for him."

The shinobi attendant asked him, "Hokage-sama, are you sure?"

Sarutobi replied, "Tell the Examiner."

The shinobi attendant nodded and said, "Hai." He made a handseal and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Hikaru smiled and said, "Thank you for understanding, Hokage-sama. I hope you don't mind if I sit here. It's so much fun talking to the two of you."

Sarutobi replied, "You may stay here if you wish Hikaru-sama. But keep in mind that for your own safety, you shouldn't move around so often. We might lose sight of you if you suddenly disappear like that again."

Hikaru pouted cutely and said as he sat down in an extra seat beside the old Hokage, "Meanie."

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Hinata and Kiba were brightened by the progress of the matches especially since her true love had defeated Neji for her sake and shook his heart.

Hinata thought as she had a grateful expression, _'Naruto-kun has defeated Neji-nii-san. He never lets anyone down and now I feel more confident in him. Naruto-kun…'_

Kiba looked at the jeering crowd and thought, _'He really got everyone fired up since his match. But now that everyone's fired up, they're getting impatient and they can't wait for the match of Sasuke and that dangerous Sand Nin.'_

But as Kiba was deep in thought, his loyal companion Akamaru, sniffed the air and grumbled to Kiba. Hinata also noticed this and said, "What's wrong Akamaru?"

Kiba replied, "Akamaru sniffed the air awhile ago and said that there are ANBU all over the stadium and scary ghosts underneath us."

Hinata was slightly surprised and said, "He really said that? What does he mean by scary ghosts?"

Kiba looked at Akamaru and the dog grumbled in a slightly higher note. Kiba faced Hinata and replied, "Akamaru said that they smell different and they feel like monsters who are hungry and in pain. I don't like the sound of that. Can you use it and see what's going on?"

Hinata nodded and casually but silently said, "**Byakugan!**" when it activated, Hinata noticed that her **Byakugan **had slight deviances than normal. Now, she could see people in different shades of color amidst the black and white background. Most were gray, some were blue, some were red.

She was a little shocked and Kiba saw it in her expression. The dog boy asked, "What's wrong?"

Hinata replied, "It's nothing. It's just that, I don't just see their chakra coils. It's as if, I can see their alignments."

Kiba was confused and Hinata replied, "Otou-sama once told me that there was a person in the Hyuuga family who could see and sense the alignment of another person. He described it as seeing the person's heart. If they were good, they would be blue. If they were neutral, they would be grey. If they were evil or had evil intent, they would be red. He also said that that person doesn't just see their alignment but also feels it and the intensity of the color."

Kiba asked her, "Is that person still alive?" Hinata nodded and said, "Hai. He left Konoha after I was declared the heiress of the Hyuuga family. Otou-sama said it was a rare case that happens once in a hundred years when one's spirit overcomes their body in a near death experience and this ability is unlocked."

Kiba was astonished to hear this. He knew that the **Byakugan **was powerful but not to this extent. And even more that the Hyuuga family had such a deep history. Kiba remembered a detail that Hinata told him and asked her, "You said that red means evil intent."

Hinata replied, "Hai. Four people are red. One is in the rightmost stands, one in the middle, another in our stand and one in the stand of the daimyo. And the ANBU behind us is constantly shifting from blue to grey to red. What should we do?"

Orihime replied, "We should wait."

They looked at her with confusion. The orange haired woman replied, "Sometimes it is better to be vigilant than to immediately take action. We don't even know how powerful they are so attacking them would mean that we would put many in danger."

Kiba looked around and thought, _'I see. It's true that the ANBU behind us is suspicious. If there are people like that around here, then that means the entire crowd is their hostage including the daimyo. And that could also mean that that ANBU is a lookout in disguise. We're really in a pinch here.' _Kiba looked at Orihime and thought, _'She's pretty calm right now even though she knows that we are all in danger. I have to be calm as well.'_

Orihime said without looking, "Hinata-chan, don't worry. We'll be alright. Let's trust the shinobi of Konoha to know what to do."

Hinata was a bit convinced and nodded as she deactivated her **Byakugan**.But the tension wasn't only kept within the walls of the arena nor the village of Konoha.

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On the outskirts close to the East wall of Konohagakure, a huge force of Oto shinobi about at least five hundred strong, gathered within a forest. Each shinobi was checking their equipment and making sure they were ready for the attack. Most of them, if not all were sitting on the grassy floor awaiting orders from their leader, Orochimaru.

Amongst the group of Oto nins, a large man in a sleeveless version of the Oto Nin uniform, was looking at a map of Konoha and the battle plan of Orochimaru. It was a simple siege with the entire armed forces of Oto and Suna surrounding and attacking Konoha from all sides. It is a very effective plan for a large army with little capabilities of intricate movement and also a practical plan since it revolves around simply choking Konoha to death so that Oto and Suna can eat up the spoils once the very framework of their army is crushed. The plan was just like a snake coiling on its prey before making a meal out of it.

Though Naruto's plan was made to stop this very situation, the unexpected can happen in more ways than one and it just so happened that one female oto nin came in to report to their leader. She said to him, "Sir. We captured a Konoha shinobi wandering behind us. He might be a scout."

The leader replied, "What? Bring him here."

Two Oto shinobi were carrying an average sized but well built man by the arms to the leader. You could tell he was a Konoha shinobi by the insignia on the metal plate of his red hitai-ate tied on his head as his swept back black hair with a short, low ponytail behind him, flowed with the wind. The man was wearing a traditional training Hakama with the pants, blue and a sleeveless white Gi. But if you would look closer, you would notice that his Gi actually had the sleeves torn off and his pants though ripped from traveling and battles. The ends were tied at the ankles with worn out rope to keep his bandaged bare feet from stepping over them. But his feet weren't the only ones with bandages. His hands up to his elbows were also bandaged and dirty. He looked like a normal traveler if it wasn't for his hitai-ate and his pearl white eyes that could only indicate that he was a Hyuuga.

The oto shinobi carrying him tossed him at the leader's feet while keeping watch behind him. The leader looked at the man and said, "What the hell is a Konoha shinobi doing out here? I thought every Konoha nin was watching the matches so what is this guy doing here?"

The female oto nin who reported handed the leader a black, guardless Kodachi with the Hyuuga emblem on it's hilt engraved on it and the Kanji for the words, 'Ashura or fighting demon' engraved on the saya of the weapon.

The female nin replied, "He was carrying this behind him when we found him."

The leader looked at the weapon and unsheathed it to look at the blade. It was clean and had that glow in the sunlight to indicate it was well taken cared of. He tossed down the saya on the floor and said to the nin while pointing the blade at him, "Ohhh, tough guy huh. What kind of pussy are you huh?"

The Hyuuga rubbed the back of his head while making a comedic smile as he stood up. "Gomen, gomen. I was lost and when I overheard some of your people talking about Konoha, I thought I could follow you guys back."

The leader then exploded on his subordinates, "What the hell did you guys do?! You let this faggot follow us and I'm gonna get blamed for it!"

The rest of the East wall siege force heard him and stared as the three nins took the words of their commander. The leader faced the Hyuuga and raised the blade up and said, "Shit like you thinks you can take me on? No chance for you!"

The man swung down only for the Hyuuga to step inside his guard, avoiding the attack. While the man was still in that motion, the Hyuuga moved forward, putting his left arm under the man's right armpit the Hyuuga grabs the back of the man's right shoulder while grabbing the wrist of the man's right arm with his right hand. Following the action, he throws the man over his shoulder in a typical overhead reverse shoulder throw except this time, he kept his head and neck over the man's triceps and his body weight on it while his left elbow stuck to the man's neck. The Hyuuga slammed the man hard on the floor while his left elbow, crushed the man's throat and spine, effectively killing him in the deadly throw and elbow drop combination.

The Hyuuga let go of the body and took back his weapon quickly and sheathed it before attaching it to his back just at the waist for him to pull out with ease with his right hand. The other nins were shocked and drew their kunai to attack him. The Hyuuga looked around and said, "I'm hungry. I wonder if there's food in Konoha?"

Fifty oto nins charged and attacked him. With speed and lightning reflexes, he swerved through the crowd with ease. But at the end of his run, the entire force that attacked him head on fell to the ground, lifeless. Luckily or unluckily, the rest of the nins that didn't charge looked on in shock and bewilderment at what just happened. One nin looked at the Hyuuga with a frightened expression as he said, "He just killed our leader without breaking a sweat and killed fifty nins faster than we could see."

Another oto nin said, "So-sore wa ningen ja nai."(That is not human.)

The Hyuuga noticed a leaf fall on his right shoulder. He picked it out with his left hand and said, "Well, I guess we can work things out if you give me some food." His stomach suddenly answered with a growl.

One oto nin charged with a kunai in hand and screamed, "I'll kill you, bastard!"

The Hyuuga saw the nin leap at him and when he was in range, the Hyuuga put his arms up to guard the sides of his face as he raised his right foot and gave a snappy, round house kick to the face of the oto nin, sending said nin's head flying to the left side, completely crushed by the force of the kick. It hit a tree and splattered into many pieces of blood and flesh as the body fell at the Hyuuga's feet.

The oto nin's were more than just scared….they were terrified. Especially since not a single drop of blood stained the man's clothes nor his feet. But what frightened them even more was that he still had that goofy smile on his face that only an innocent child would have.

They begun to back off until one oto nin started doing handseals. His companion replied as he held his two hands from continuing, "Yamero. We're supposed to keep our location a secret. If we use a jutsu now, the plan will fail."

Another oto nin said to him, "Oi! Don't kid with me. How are we supposed to fight that?" and yet another nin spoke, "There's plenty of us and one of him." But another nin retorted, "But you saw what happened? We couldn't even see him attack!"

The Hyuuga saw their frightened and agitated stances so he began cleaning his right ear with his right pinky. When he was done and flicked the dirt off, his stomach grumbled again so he said, "Does anyone here have food? I'm starving already."

One oto nin stepped forward and showed him a bento box full of onigiri, takoyaki and some sausages cut to look like a small octopus. He said as he put the lid back on, "Here! Now leave us alone!" he threw the box. The Hyuuga caught it and said, "Gee, thanks!" he threw the lid back at the nin and it got caught in between his teeth. The nin panicked but the lid exploded, turning him into a pile of burnt mush.

One oto nin said, "He knew that there was an exploding tag on it? But how? He didn't even activate his **Byakugan**!"

The Hyuuga replied in between bites of the meal, "It's not nice to throw dangerous things at people. Someone could get hurt. Why don't we all be as blue as the sky today? It's scary seeing so many red people."

The Oto nins were confused but one nin became agitated and couldn't take the pressure. So he said, "Screw this. Forget the plan. I'll take you down myself." He then made several handseals and four nins followed making handseals of their own as they ran and surrounded the dining Hyuuga. The five nins finished their seals and held their breath before blowing a huge stream of fire at the Hyuuga who looked completely calm before being engulfed in flames. The nins brightened up seeing the flames until they rotated clockwise and dispersed showing a small crater in the center with an empty bento box.

The agitated nin looked around and said, "What happened?" suddenly the Hyuuga landed on top of him with his legs holding on to the nin's head in a headlock. The Hyuuga twisted his legs and body back, twisting the nin's head and killing him. The Hyuuga leaped off him and was on top of another nin in a handstand while holding the nin's head. He twisted it back before gravity pulled him and he landed on another nin where he gave a quick punch to the nin's neck, shattering his spine in that area. The Hyuuga leaped of him and stood straight in an unguarded stance and said, "Hmmm….I guess none of you are going to let me leave. And none of you have any good intentions. Looks like it's time to exercise."

The Hyuuga then moved into the Hyuuga fighting stance as the crowd of oto nins attacked.

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About three miles from Konoha's entrance, a group of Oto nins about three hundred strong hid in the forest. They too were making preparations until from behind them, a circular wooden sliding door opened and light shone through despite the fact that they didn't see it nor notice it or even sense it's presence. Out of that light stepped out Hinamori Momo, Izuru Kira, Hitsugaya Toushirou, Matsumoto Rangiku, Madarame Ikkaku, Ayasegawa Yumichika, Namikaze Kushina and Namikaze Minato. As the light behind them faded and the doors shut and disappeared, Minato stretched and said, "It's good to be home."

Kushina replied, "It really is. I can't wait to see Naruto again."

Before any other shinigami could speak, the Oto nins turned around and one of them said, "I smell blood. But where is it coming from?" another nin held his nose and said, "The smell is too strong. Where is it coming from?" another nin looked around and said, "It smells nearby but I don't know where. Did someone die?"

Kira replied, "Hinamori-san. It's your Haori."

Hinamori replied, "There's nothing I can do about it." she sighed and said, "No matter how many times I wash it, the smell of blood never leaves."

Matsumoto said as she waved her pointer finger in a teaching manner, "That won't do. You need to get rid of the smell or else everyone will notice it."

Toushirou replied, "It doesn't matter what brand of detergent we buy the smell stuck to it permanently."

Yumichika saw the bewildered and confused Oto nins. He placed a hand on his chin while supporting his elbow with his other arm. "I wonder who these people are. They have no sense of beauty at all. Those clothes are horrible."

Ikkaku replied as he drew his zanpakuto, "They look like they want to fight. What should we do with them?"

Minato replied, "These are the Oto nins that my son said were going to attack Konoha. What else should we do with them?"

Hinamori drew her zanpakuto and the rest followed her lead. Hinamori leaped into action first and started cutting down the Oto nins left and right. The shinobis were dumbfounded and frightened as their numbers dwindled without any sign of an enemy nearby. They were being slaughtered mercilessly and they didn't know how to deal with the situation except break rank and flee only to be cut down by Minato and Kushina who were more familiar with the terrain than anyone else thus allowing them to predict the nin's movements and trap them effectively and efficiently. When the carnage finished, they sheathed their swords and Ikkaku yelled, "So boring!!! Aren't there any strong guys around?"

Minato replied, "I doubt that's the last of them. They were lying in wait to ambush. It's most likely that they have Konoha surrounded and are waiting to attack it all at once."

Kushina added, "The Chunin Exams are going on so Konoha is in high alert. They can't attempt to attack it now."

Toushiro replied as he looked at the fallen, "No, it's the perfect opportunity. From what I understand, the Chunin exam is an important event like the graduation of new recruits. While all eyes are focused on the event, they can strike where security is at it's weakest. Even if they secure all sides of Konoha, against a siege they never expected, they would be too late and easily brushed aside with little effort."

Minato replied, "Right now, the weakest point of Konoha is all its sides. Their defenses are spread too thin because everyone is watching the matches. If I were the enemy who knows about the exam, my best bet would be to hide my forces so that I can attack them when it's weakest. We have to get to the other areas around Konoha."

Kira took out his GPS and saw several Oto nins just a few meters outside of Konoha. Most of which were close to the west wall. Kira replied to them, "There are enemies close to the west wall. We should go there."

Minato replied, "Let's do that then." They **shunpo'd** out of sight.

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Ishida was running down the halls towards the box seats where the Hokage was seated in. he was in a long corridor with 19.5 x 10 in. windows on both sides of the wall. As he ran, his thoughts were focused on the enemy he had just encountered. _'That woman was an Oto nin. But why would she attack the head of the Hyuuga Clan? Is Orochimaru planning on taking down Konoha's best defenses from the inside? No, he would attack Sarutobi first, instantly killing the chain of command. So whatever she was after wasn't included in the plan. It's a personal grudge. But we can use this to our advantage so I better hurry.'_

But as Ishida ran, he sensed an evil but familiar presence. He stopped midway as Hollows suddenly appeared in front of him and behind him. Ishida looked around and thought, _'It's a trap. They conveniently appeared all in one location while I was running through these halls alone. Their master should be nearby. But first, I have to clear these things out.' _"You're in my way. I have no time for any of you so tell your master I'm in a hurry."

The Quincy quickly drew his bow and fired a rain of arrows to the front, killing the hollows and dashed forward, evading the hollows behind him. He continued his frontal assault until the hollows in front of him were exterminated. Seeing a clear path, he charged forward towards the end of the hall where he saw a door. He opened it and faced the corridor he came from while taking a step back into the next room. He aimed his bow and suddenly poured extra reiatsu in it, causing the bow to expand to the frame of the door. He pulled back the hand he used to anchor the bow, allowing a strait but spear sized beam of reiatsu to form as he stretched it back while four strings of reiatsu held on the spear like an arbalest. Ishida said as he let go, "**Suzume no Ishiyumi!**" the energy spear flew forward as two 'wings' spread just three inches behind the spearpoint. The energy spear cut straight through the mob of hollows and through the wall and into the distance past Konoha. Luckily, it missed the shinobi guarding the walls by hair's width.

The bow of reiatsu disappeared since Ishida was no longer controlling it and the Quincy closed the door as he said without looking, "Even if I'm not a shinobi, I can tell that you're there. Come out."

The room he was in was a rectangular room about as large as a classroom of the shinobi academy. It was filled with cleaning materials and some mirrors on the wall to the left hand side of Ishida and on the right hand side had the only other door towards the main floor where the stands were located. The Quincy turned around and saw across the room, the same assassin from before in the same Oto nin uniform with a giant scroll on her back, tied by rope. She still wore the gas mask to hide her identity but the killing intent she radiated was very obvious. Ishida analyzed her stance carefully and said, "I don't think that what you did earlier was part of Orochimaru's plan. In fact, you're not even an Oto nin."

Tokage smirked and said, "Yes, that's right. I don't work for Orochimaru. My battle doesn't concern you at all. I only need one target. So if you can move away, you won't need to waste your energy trying so hard."

Ishida readied his bow and said, "I think it is you who will waste energy trying so hard to outrun me."

Tokage quickly did three handseals and said, "**Ninpou, Hebi no Shinkokyuu!**" grayish smoke burst out of her entire body and filled the room. Ishida wasn't blinded and felt her location shift to the left corner of the room. He fired three shots at her. One, aimed directly at her, another to her left and another to her right, giving her no time to move in those directions. But as the arrows of pure reiatsu flew, they began to bubble up as if they were infected. They eventually fell to the ground just in front of Tokage and the three arrows turned into three hollows that charged towards the now surprised Ishida. He rolled to the side and evaded their attacks while Tokage replied, "It's true that I will waste energy trying to outrun you but you missed out the fact that I can distract you long enough to get away. Have fun with your creations." The cold beauty ran out the door leaving Ishida to fend for himself.

Ishida made some distance from the hollows and fired at them each a shot only for the same thing to happen again making three additional ranks to the hollows. He thought as he swerved in and out of the path of the hollows, _'chikuso. She had more than one trick up her sleeve. She's no ordinary shinobi to be able to turn my weapon against me. Could it be that she's with the elemental gods? In any case, I have to get out of here. That jutsu she just used must be the way she turned my arrows into hollows.'_

Ishida ran back out into the corridor he just came from, allowing the hollows to follow close behind. When they were close enough to him, he **shunpo'd **back and fired six précised shots at them, killing them instantly. Once they were killed, Ishida thought as he ran back to the box seats, _'I have a bad feeling about this. I have to warn them before its too late.'_

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Soon enough, Gekko Hayate called out Shikamaru and Temari to the arena leaving Naruto with Shino, Gaara and Kankuro. As they watched the match that was about to proceed, Naruto asked Shino, "How much do you already know?"

Shino kept his blank stare at the arena and replied, "As much as you allowed us to know."

Naruto replied, "I see. Is there something wrong Shino?"

Shino adjusted his shades as the winds that Temari created with her fan blew by. "Naruto, why are you doing all this? What is your real reason for being here?"

Naruto replied, "I never expected you to worry so much about me before Shino."

Shino replied, "I'm not the only one worrying. You've changed. No…you've grown into something no one can understand. Even Hinata is worried about it."

Naruto listened in at this point as Shino said, "Hinata has never been this focused before. She pushes herself to her limits just so she can catch up to you. You have always been in her mind. But now, the Naruto we once knew has become a different person altogether. It's becoming very scary. Everyone can feel the change in you already and Hinata is being taken into the pace you've set for her."

Naruto was a bit wide-eyed when he heard Shino say these words. Shino faced him and replied, "Naruto, you have a power that I cannot describe. But I do know that anyone who you meet instantly feels that power grip them. You have always had this power from what I see."

Naruto replied as he scratched his nose, "No. I don't have anything like that."

Shino replied frankly, "But now, its as if that power has been amplified by a hundred fold and because you are not aware of this power, you do not realize that those who follow you are being dragged in without their own knowledge."

Naruto was speechless at this point. Rarely does Shino speak but his words struck Naruto to wake up from his stupor. He thought back to what happened within the last six years. _'I…I….I never knew this. All I did was act myself and didn't realize that I had that much influence. That's very scary because it also means that everyone who is close to me is falling in the dangers I am facing….Sasuke…Sakura…Shikamaru….Chouji…Kiba…Ino…Neji…Lee…Tenten and Hinata is the same. Everyone in Konoha that I've ever met is changing because of what I've been doing. It's as if my entire presence alone changes everything.'_

Naruto replied to Shino, "You're scaring me Shino. Somehow, it feels like you're telling me that the weight of the world is on my shoulders."

Shino replied as the crowd cheered, "Is it Naruto?"

Naruto replied with a smile, "I don't know about the world but, Konoha is the place that I'd gladly give my life to protect. I'm a proud shinobi of Konoha, and I'll protect my home no matter what. Because one day, it will be the home of the next generation who's smiling right now. I want to see their smile last forever."

Shino raised his eyebrows as the referee declared victory to Temari.

Shikamaru walked up the steps to the box seats where the rest of the examinees stood to watch. When he entered the stand, he saw the deadly look that Gaara was giving Naruto. The lazy genius thought, _'Just when I could relax a little, that guy gives that look. Mendokusai. At least it won't be boring while I wait for the next match.'_

Shikamaru thought back to what Naruto said as he eyed the young blonde. _'Is he serious about what he just said? This is even more troublesome than that sand nin. Well, it doesn't have anything to do with me. I'd better not stick my nose in anymore.'_

Shikamaru went beside the young blonde while the crowd rioted for Sasuke to show up. Naruto asked Shikamaru, "Shikamaru, how long does it take for a chunin to get to the West Wall from here?"

Shikamaru looked at Naruto as if he was crazy. The lazy genius replied, "What do you need to know that for? But it'll probably take five minutes if he's in a hurry."

Naruto nodded and said as he donned a serious look on his face, "Everything will be alright then."

Shikamaru saw the look Naruto was giving. He had a calm but restrained aura around him showing that he was perfectly fine but was getting a little impatient. The lazy genius thought, _'He must be wondering about Sasuke. All our matches are done leaving him and Gaara to end the first round of the final exam. And the crowd is too excited at this point to wait any longer for them. Will Sasuke really come by now?' _

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The four men that Hinata mentioned to Kiba began to move uneasily. They weren't trained in the art of stealth except maybe for two who knew where to hide.

"Is it really that boring?" the hairy one asked as he touched the inside of his right ear. He had cropped up but standing brown hair and sideburns that ran the length of his face. He had deep-set brown eyes and wore a red sleeveless jacket over his bare chest. He also wore green shorts and black shinobi sandals and carried a red staff over his back and had a set of knives across the back of his shoulders. He was currently seated in the rightmost stand.

"No, but it's not important." Said the man hiding in the corner of the daimyo's box. He had the cloak of the ANBU and a rat's mask. Nothing else could be seen about him shrouding him in a bizarre mystery. The masked man replied, "I'm hungry for beef."

Another man replied from the middle box, "Ohh. You want to eat that cow that eats meat. You're sick." He wore a grey jacket with dark grey sleeves and black pants and blue shinobi sandals. On the right sleeve at the start of the upper arm, there was the Kanji for horse but across the front of the jacket at the chest was written in English, 'smoker's high' in black. His dark brown skin contrasted with his red hair that was cut into a two and a half inch tall Mohawk from the top of his forehead all the way to the middle of the back of his head where the rest of his hair was a long lock of braided red hair that ended at the place in between his shoulder blades. His wrinkled face said he aged but his sharp, grey eyes said he wasn't too old to fight. The old rocker pulled out a pack of cigarettes and looked at it as he said, "I'm almost out. Are we going to do this?"

"Okay, wait first. So we're going to kidnap the fat kid?" said the man in the left box just behind Chouji. He was wearing a light blue polo with a chain mail undershirt. He wore red pants and bandaged cloth shoes that ended just above his ankle. Around his waist was a belt with several pouches and a main pouch just over his crotch area. He had rectangular glasses over his roughly square face and short black hair in a semi flat top. Right after his inquiry of obvious stupidity, he heard a clicking noise in his earpiece that indicated that they turned off their radios.

The idiotic man tapped his earpiece while saying, "Hello? Did you just turn of the radio? Hello?"

Chouji frowned as he said, "Did you hear what that guy just said? I thought I heard him say…."

Ino waved her hands dismissively as she said, "You're just imagining things. He's just a weirdo who talks to himself."

Sakura smiled a little before setting back into a frown as she thought, _'Sasuke-kun. Where are you? Everyone's waiting for you.' _

Sakura was still nervous for Sasuke's sake. The raven-haired boy hadn't shown up and it was racking her nerves. Where was he? What was he doing? Did something happen to him? Many images passed through her mind as she patched together the possibilities of why Sasuke hasn't shown up.

The pink haired girl thought, _'Sasuke-kun. Please, show yourself. Show us that you're alright.'_

But right after she thought that, suddenly, the world around her stopped and cracked like glass. She said, "Oh no. Not again!" Everything around her shattered leaving her in a jungle with a stream nearby. The air was humid but she could smell the scent of burning oil or what smells like it. She turned around and saw a wrecked F-35 Lightning II that looked like it landed hard and skid all the way there from the look of the broken trees and foliage it left in its wake before getting there. She did not know where she was this time nor what she was looking at right now. Sakura looked at the plane and said, "Wha-what is this thing and where am I?"

But then she heard the cracking of leaves behind her and quickly turned around to see an aviatrix in a black pilot's outfit pointing an MK23 with a LAM attached. The downed pilot didn't have her helmet on so her pretty face, short black hair in a boy's cut and brown eyes were easy to see for the pink haired girl. The aviatrix gave Sakura a glare that any soldier out in the field would while taking a defensive stance and holding the gun with two hands as any professional soldier would while keeping a distance of fifteen feet. She was in her early twenties and much taller than Sakura.

The aviatrix said in English with a demanding voice, "Who are you? Which side are you from?"

Sakura was a bit frightened this time. She thought, _'This must be a dream, right?'_

The aviatrix asked again, "Oi! I asked you a question. Who are you and which nation are you from?! If you don't reply, I'll shoot you." She cocked the pistol making her point.

Sakura was confused. She couldn't understand what this woman was saying. She replied in her native tongue, "Watashi wa shinobi no Konohagakure desu."(I am a ninja of the village of hidden leaves.)

The aviatrix was surprised and lost her sharp glare. "Eh? Nihon-jin?"(Japanese citizen.) She relaxed her stance and lowered her gun and started speaking in her native tongue. "Who are you and what are you doing here? You can't be the reinforcements."

Sakura asked her, "I'm Haruno Sakura. What's going on here?"

The aviatrix replied as she holstered her gun, "You don't know? We are in South America. Where did you come from?"

Suddenly they heard a loud inhuman wail and the sounds of gunfire. The aviatrix ran towards Sakura pulled her by the collar and ran into the nearby bushes across the stream. The two of them hid and kept quiet as they saw South American rebels run away in fright while three hollows chased them through the forest. When the rebels and the hollows disappeared into the foliage, the two girls heard the cry of death that the rebels made until they fell silent in a matter of seconds.

Both were losing their nerves and the older woman said, "They're gone…" she jumped out the bushes and ran to her downed plane. Sakura followed her close by and asked, "What was that?"

The older woman replied as she went into the cockpit, "That was a Hollow. An evil spirit that eats people and when you get eaten by one, you turn into one of them." She checked to see if anything was still functioning and realized that the radio was down. "Shit. We're stranded. Where the hell is the rest of the squad?!" she tried to switch the channel and reroute the energy to bring back the radio. As she did that, she mumbled, "Orihime…where are you?"

Sakura looked at the cockpit with curiosity despite her fear of what was happening to her. But when she saw a picture in the cockpit, she recognized the faces of Ichigo, Inoue and Ishida. She said as she looked at the picture, "Those people…I recognize some of them."

The older woman turned to face Sakura and said, "You know them?" she then held onto Sakura's collar and said, "The woman with orange hair, her name is Inoue Orihime. Do you know where she is?"

Sakura replied, "Ha-hai. I saw her once in Konoha. She's a medical shinobi there."

The older woman thought, _'Shinobi? She's been saying that a few seconds ago. Aren't they extinct? But from the looks she's giving me, she's telling the truth.' _"Where is Konoha? Is it far from here? Take me to Orihime."

Sakura replied, "Ehh? But I don't know how to get back."

The older woman replied, "What? You're kidding. Don't lie to me. Take me back to find Orihime now. She is second in command of my squad. Without her, we'll all die!"

Sakura saw the fear in this woman's eyes and saw how desperate she was to find her friend since she was the woman beside Inoue in the picture meaning they are very close. The pink-haired girl replied, "I'm sorry. But the way I got here, even I can't explain it."

The older woman let go and slumped into her seat. She said as she frowned, "Those things called Hollows, they're something you can't explain either but I see that they exist. At this point, I'm willing to believe anything now if it means finding her."

Sakura sat down across the woman and said, "I fell asleep and in my dreams, and I appeared in another place. I think that's how I got here. Even though I think this is a dream…it feels too real to be one. But when I wake up, I'm back where I was."

The older woman asked, "How does that happen?"

Sakura replied, "I don't know at all. This is the second time it happened to me so I don't really get it."

The older woman heard a beeping sound coming from the radio and she quickly picked up the mouthpiece and said over it, "This is second Lieutenant Arisawa Tatsuki of the Grey Wings. I crashed."

The radio replied, "We read you Lt. Arisawa. Moving to your coordinates right now. We'll be there in three minutes."

Sakura however noticed that Lt. Arisawa was bleeding in her right leg, just below her butt. She said to her, "You're bleeding."

Tatsuki looked and saw blood flowing down her right leg. She replied, "This happened earlier when I got out of the plane. I'll be fine."

Sakura replied as she brought out a bandage from her back pocket, "Even if you say that you're bleeding constantly. At this rate you'll die. You need to get it healed right away."

She made Tatsuki sit down despite the older woman's stubborn nature. The pink haired girl cleaned the wound and started bandaging it. As she got to work cleaning the wound and fixing it up, Tatsuki asked Sakura, "How is Orihime doing? She used to rely on me a lot so I had to protect her."

Sakura replied, "I really don't know anything about her since I just saw her. But, a lot of people in the hospital talk about her ever since she helped out."

Tatsuki replied with a sad expression as Sakura finished healing her, "Thank Kami." _'She doesn't need to be protected anymore.'_

Sakura replied, "You really like her don't you?"

Tatsuki was slightly embarrassed but replied, "It's strange. But, when I wasn't looking, she's grown stronger. Now, she's grown so strong that I can't even reach her."

Sakura replied, "What are you saying? Even strong people need help sometimes. No one became strong on their own. The reason she is so strong is because she has a good friend who is supporting her." Tatsuki was speechless by what Sakura had just told her. The pink haired girl replied, "Don't be afraid of your own feelings. Otherwise, you'll make her sad if she sees you right now."

Tatsuki shed a tear and wiped it clean from her cheek. She smiled and said to Sakura, "Arigato. You're right. I can't show her that I'm like this or she'll get worried sick over me and do something stupid." She then handed Sakura the MK23 and said, "Here. Give this to her. It's her gun. She needs it more than me."

Sakura took it and said, "Why don't you give it yourself?"

Tatsuki replied as she shut her eyes, "Because, she's helpless without a weapon. I want her to survive long enough to see me."

Sakura took the weapon with a little hesitation and saw the now confident look on Tatsuki's face.

Sakura blinked and she was back in the Konoha arena, seated beside Ino. When she came to, she looked around and Ino berated her with a frown, "What's wrong with you sleeping all of a sudden? Look, Sasuke is already here."

Sakura looked at the arena below and her eyes widened when she saw Sasuke there with Kakashi. She smiled and said, "Sasuke-kun!"

But then she realized that something was on her lap and looked to see the MK23 on her lap. She then remembered the words that Tatsuki said and her own. Sakura thought as she looked at the arena, _'Sasuke-kun…I'll be there for you if you need me. So…win.'_

Back down at the arena, Sasuke and Kakashi had just arrived from their training mission. Leaves blew around them, no doubt a leftover signature from the **shunsin**. Kakashi replied to the referee, "Sorry we're late."

The referee asked, "Please state your name."

The raven haired boy replied, "Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura was in glee at seeing Sasuke there. But even more when she heard a familiar voice to her left say, "I made it in time!"

She looked along with Ino to see Lee completely healthy and ready alongside his sensei.

"Lee-san!" Both girls exclaimed seeing him. Lee and his sensei found some empty seats in that row and sat there to watch the match that was about to progress.

But back in the stands where the remaining participants stood, Naruto looked down at the arena and smiled. Sasuke looked up to see where Naruto stood and thought, _'We'll settle our fight here. I'm not going to let you surpass me. I will move from here and get to Him.'_

Naruto saw the confident gaze Sasuke gave and the young blonde said, "He's putting everything on the line this time."

Kakashi looked around and thought, _'Good thing we made it in time. Although Sasuke managed to master using __**Chidori**__, he still has a limit of five per day. The training might not be enough against Gaara.'_

The silver haired Jounin then asked as he scratched his head, "It's hard to ask this after we've entered the stage with a flashy performance…but did Sasuke get disqualified?"

Gekko Hayate replied, "No. He was about to be disqualified the moment he exceeded the ten minute time limit. But he made it just before the time ran out."

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask and said, "I'm glad to hear that." _'Well, everything looks good. It's best not to worry about the little things. Whatever happens, happens.'_

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Ino smiled with glee as she said, "Sakura, your team is amazing."

Sakura asked, "How so?"

Ino replied, "Because that Naruto beat Neji Hyuuga and Sasuke-kun is an elite Uchiha. And it seems that everyone has been itching to see Sasuke-kun's match."

Lee was mortified hearing these words as he thought about what was taking place. Naruto defeated Neji and Sasuke was going to fight Gaara. It couldn't get any more vexing as this.

Gekko Hayate then called out, "Sabaku no Gaara, come down to start the next match."

Gaara **shunsined **down onto the arena and walked towards the referee while keeping his dead gaze at his opponent.

Naruto saw the restrained killing intent of Gaara but was snapped out of his stupor when his tenant said, **Oi, Gaki! Something is wrong here.**

Naruto thought, _'What do you mean?'_

Kyuubi replied, **that jinchuriki shunsined down there. If I recall, he walked down the stairs and towards the arena after killing two meatbags in the process.**

Naruto went slightly wide-eyed and replied, _'That's right! There's a minor change here. I hope it doesn't affect anything right now. We're in very deep already.'_

The young blonde yelled out to Sasuke, "Sasuke! Don't you dare lose!"

Sasuke kept his focus on Gaara and thought, _'This guy has a lot of power with that sand he's controlling. But it's not enough to really stop me. I'll be able to defeat him and find out my true strength.'_

Gekko Hayate looked at the two and said, "The rules are the same as the preliminary matches. The match will continue until one dies or gives up. I may stop the match if I determine that there is a clear winner."

Gaara chuckled devilishly as he gazed at his impassive opponent.

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Back in the box seats of the Hokage, Ishida stormed through the main door and said, "Hokage-sama, we're under attack!"

They looked at Ishida with surprise and Sarutobi replied, "What?"

Ishida said, "An oto nin attacked Hyuuga Hiashi a few minutes ago and escaped."

The look on everyone's faces was priceless. Orochimaru was dumbfounded, Sarutobi was shocked and Hikaru….faked a surprised face.

Orochimaru knew this was a bad turn of events. But he had no choice. He quickly took off from his seat and held Sarutobi hostage while his two guards set off two smoke grenades to cover their assault.

Hikaru was shielded by his two guards and Ishida quickly dove in the smoke.

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Hinata quickly saw the smoke and said, "Kiba, the Hokage is under attack!"

Kiba looked and said as he tightened his right hand into a fist, "Damn. How is this happening?!"

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Kakashi was with Gai and Lee at this point and the silver haired jounin said, "Gai, we're under attack."

Lee heard this and said, "What? Is that true Gai-sensei?!"

Suddenly, the geeky looking guy behind Chouji grabbed Chouji by the head and lifted him up while putting his other hand on Chouji's back. Before they could react, he said, "I am Ampaw and I can say this because I'm better than you. **Doton, Kuchiyose, Tenkuu no Kagi!**"

A magical circle appeared on Chouji's back with the left hand of Ampaw in the center. Ampaw turned his left hand 180 degrees and Chouji squealed in pain as a key made of gold with the kanji for earth pushed out from his body before disappearing completely. Chouji lost consciousness from the endeavor allowing Ampaw to throw him towards the arena.

Ino screamed as her she eyed Chouji, "Chouji!!"

Kakashi quickly ran and leaped after Chouji as Gai leaped to give Ampaw a good flying right kick only for Ampaw to leap out of the way and run away laughing until, he received a hard fist to his right cheek, courtesy of Chad.

The crowd that had just witnessed this was in a state of panic until feathers fell from the sky to blanket upon them. Sakura quickly noticed it was a genjutsu and dispelled it. Ino was about to fall asleep until Sakura held her and said, "Ino, get a hold of yourself!"

Ino quickly put her hands together and said, "**Kai!**" releasing her from an obvious trap. Gai, and Lee did the same and were saved as well while Kakashi caught Chouji as he landed on the arena and quickly told the two boys, "Stop the match. We're under attack."

Gekko Hayate nodded and said to Sasuke, "The match is cancelled. Evacuate all the civilians." Sasuke grumbled until Hayate was suddenly struck with sand from Gaara who still kept his smile.

Sasuke eyed the boy and thought, _'This guy…'_

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The ANBU with the rat's mask in the box of the feudal lords then pulled out a piece of glass and threw it at feudal lord in the center and before it reached him, he did two handseals and said, "**Hijutsu, Sanmen Kagami.**"

Yellow light burst out of the mirror into an oversized three-pronged shuriken with the mirror as the center and the 'blades'pierced through all of the feudal lords and some of the ANBU guarding them before disappearing a second later, allowing the piece of glass to fall to the floor.

"Teme!" yelled one ANBU as he charged to attack the fake ANBU who just **shunsined** behind a young green haired girl in the middle of the stands and aimed a trident at the girl's neck, telling them non-verbally that he was in control.

The remaining ANBU in the box seats held their ground as the masked fake said, "I am Tritran, ex-retiarius. Remember the name well. If you move, she dies. As long as you stay were you are, she lives."

One of the ANBU said, "Damn it. He got us. Everyone do as he says!"

The young girl was on the verge of tears and Tritran saw this. He said to her, "What's your name?"

The girl replied through her frightened and shaky voice, "Anzu…"

Tritran replied, "Anzu…a nice name. My daughter was also named Anzu…" the masked man saw that the girl had a hand made mirror with her and it was lying on the ground, just a few inches from her right foot. He then pointed the trident on the mirror while he held on to Anzu's left shoulder with his left hand ensuring he had control. The ANBU gazed in fear until Tritran said, "**Hijutsu, Yaburetayume." **He thrust the spear into the mirror and it went inside like a stone through water and the spearhead came out of the piece of glass he threw earlier and extended and multiplied into the same number of ANBU and struck them each in the chest. The ANBU screamed in pain before dying from the wounds. Tritran pulled out the spear allowing the spearheads to return back into the glass and out of the handmade mirror to reveal the same singular trident he held.

Tritran let go of the now shell shocked Anzu and put his left hand on the girl's back and said, "I'm sorry…**Fuuton, Kuchiyose, Tenkuu no Kagi.**" The same magical circle appeared in the exact same way and Anzu screamed in pain before the pain subsided into a stimulation of pleasure as a golden key with the kanji for wind came out of her and disappeared in the same manner as the last.

Anzu was about to fall down until Tritran caught her and lay her down gently.

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Ichigo was in a deadlock with the man with a Mohawk as his sword pushed against the green J shaped cane of the man. The dark-skinned man said, "I am Kapre. A shepherd."

Ichigo gave out his name, "Kurosaki Ichigo. Substitute Shinigami."

Kapre said to him, "Ah. I'd never live to see another day like this. A monster versus another monster. Which one of us is the more powerful monster though?"

Ichigo frowned and said, "Urasai! You hurt Rukia and call me a monster?!"

Rukia was just behind Ichigo, blushing but half-awake as she lay prone on the floor. Kapre says to him, "I think I did her a favor though. Look at how happy she is."

Ichigo pushed his wakizashi harder and ran forward, pushing the man back with his power. Kapre held on the hold as he ran backwards to keep up with Ichigo's power until Ichigo aimed his left hand at the man's face and said, "**Hado number one, Sho!**"

Kapre was sent back head first into Renji's wakizashi that had been waiting for him only for Kapre to swallow the sword whole and land on his two feet in a back bent position.

Renji and Ichigo were shocked. But when Kapre bit off the entire blade, stood upright and swallowed it whole, they were even more shocked than before.

Kapre said to them, "Now that the last key is unlocked I have no business here. Too bad we won't get to finish our fight, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Renji then dives to grab the man but fails to as Kapre **shunsins** out of range. Renji falls to the floor and says, "Damn bastard. I'll get you….I'll never forgive you."

Ichigo turned around and knelt down to Rukia's side and said, "Oi, Rukia, are you alright? Oi, speak to me!"

Rukia mumbled, "Ichi…go….dame…not there…"

Ichigo shook her silly and said, "Stop saying stupid things in the middle of a battlefield baka! In fact, don't even dream those things!"

Renji got up and looked around. He said, "The remaining Konoha nins are fighting the sound and sand nins that stayed in Konoha while keeping the civilians alive so we can't rely on them at all. Just who was that guy?"

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Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino looked behind them to see a brown haired hairy man with sideburns that ran the length of his face holding a red staff guarding the only exit. The man said, "I am Unggoy the monk. Nice to meet you guys. Strong guys like you better not bore me to death."

Naruto thought, _'Kankuro and Temari are headed to Gaara and Baki to commence the attack. These guys don't look like either sand nins nor Konoha nins so they must have another agenda instead.' _"I am Namikaze Naruto. Shinigami Captain of the Ninth Division. Are you with the Elemental gods?"

Unggoy said with a prankster's smile, "Hehe. You guessed it. You're a smart shinigami aren't you? Most of your kind just rushes in with their pride only to get a spank in the butt like the bad boys they are." The man sharpens his stare while keeping his devious grin. "But you're not like them. You've got something in between your ears and it means I've got me an opponent."

Shikamaru thinks, _'Oi, chotto matte. I said shinigami but now he says he's a captain of a division? Mendokuse. What did I get myself involved in?'_

Shino raises his left hand slightly and Unggoy raises his staff in a defensive position while saying, "Hehehe. I'm not falling for that trick. I happen to have insect repellant all over me so your bugs are useless." But before he could say anything else, he suddenly moved his hands to the side as he noticed his shadow connected to Shikamaru's shadow.

Naruto said, "Sorry, but I have other enemies to defeat. Where is your master?"

Unggoy replied, "Oh he's just out there playing with your lives."

Shino then sent a wave of bugs to him but the bugs died and disintegrated the moment they got within two inches of the man.

Naruto replied, "A cloak of reiatsu. It looks like we won't be able to leave right away."

Unggoy replied, "All I want is a battle fair and square. Me versus you three. If you win, I tell you where my master is. But if I win, I take your lives."

Shikamaru replies, "Heh. You assume that we'll go along with that crazy plan?"

Naruto replied, "I don't have time for this fight. If you really want that kind of fight, go look for Zaraki Kenpachi and the Eleventh division. They'll love to fight you."

Unggoy replied, "There are no other shinigami here. Especially the eleventh division shinigami. All I see are cannon fodder called 'shinobi', four shinigamis from different divisions, and three humans with the ability to use reiatsu. Who are you trying to fool?"

Naruto whispered to Shikamaru, "Your **Kagemane no jutsu** won't last long on him. When I give you the signal, we'll run for it."

Unggoy dashed forward with staff aiming to skewer them. "I heard that!"

But before he could follow through with his attack, a clone of Naruto leaped at him from behind, causing him to fall down on the ground. The clone then placed his right hand on the back of the man and he said, "**Rasengan!**" the rasengan formed within the man and exploded, causing severe damage to the floor and guts to fly in different directions as blood sprayed and painted their surroundings like an airbrush.

The real Naruto and Shikamaru and Shino leaped out of stand they were in and into the arena. While they were falling to the ground, Naruto said to them, "Shino, meet up with your team and help them evacuate the villagers. There is a big chance that these aren't the only enemies in Konoha. Shikamaru, you're with me."

When they landed, Shino took off to look for his teammates while Shikamaru asked Naruto, "Naruto, what's going on?"

The young blonde replied as he gazed at Sasuke and Gaara, "Otogakure and Suna launched a surprise attack on Konoha."

Shikamaru looked to his left and saw his unconscious friend, "Chouji!"

Suddenly, Kankuro and Temari landed beside Gaara and Kankuro said to him, "Gaara, don't forget the plan."

Gaara said nothing making them worried. Temari shouted, "Gaara!"

Gaara turned around assuring them he was fine. Temari took out her fan and they quickly took off on the fan headed to Konoha forest.

Sasuke ran after them and Naruto shouted, "Sasuke, don't….not again."

Shikamaru ran to Chouji and Kakashi with Naruto following shortly behind him.

Kakashi replied, "He's alright. He's just unconscious. But I'm more worried now about the Hokage." The silver haired jounin said to Shikamaru, "Shikamaru, take care of Chouji for me. Get back to your team and I want you to tell Sakura…"

Naruto replied, "I understand. An A rank mission to bring back Sasuke."

Kakashi was surprised. But when he gazed into the serious eyes of the young blonde, he knew that Naruto was serious about this and had no doubts in his mind.

Naruto replied to him, "Kakashi-sensei….there's a shield generator in the Hokage Tower. When the oto and sand nins outside Konoha enter, activate the shield generator to trap them inside so that we can fight them on our grounds."

Kakashi was still speechless allowing the young blonde to say, "Once I bring back Sasuke, I'll take care of Gaara so you're in charge of leading the remaining active jounins to fight off the oto and sand nins. Hokage-sama can take care of himself. He's not alone right now."

Kakashi nodded and said with a smile, "Hai Naruto." _'He's really like his father.'_

Kakashi then took off, leaving Shikamaru with Naruto and an unconscious Chouji.

Naruto held Chouji on his back while saying, "Chouji really should loose weight."

Shikamaru replied, "At least he didn't hear you when you said that. He'd do much worse to you than these guys."

The two boys then leaped over to Sakura's position who was currently being guarded by Lee and Ino while Gai was fending off sand and oto nins left and right while at the same time, Chad was having a one on one duel with Ampaw on the highest steps in the seats.

When Sakura saw Shikamaru and Naruto she said, "Naruto, Shikamaru!"

Ino noticed Chouji and said, "How is he?"

Naruto put down Chouji beside the two kunoichi's and said, "He's fine. He's just unconscious. But it looks like he'll need to get to a safe place to rest."

Sakura then asked, "Where's Sasuke?"

Shikamaru replied, "He went after Gaara and the other sand nins. That guy always gives people trouble."

Naruto replied, "Sakura, I'm going to go bring back Sasuke. Let's take him back before he gets into a pinch."

Sakura was a bit surprised. But she quickly formed her resolve and nodded.

Suddenly, Lee got kicked to the wall making Sakura say, as she looked at Lee, "Lee-san!"

An oto nin charged with kunai in hand to strike Ino while they were distracted. Naruto **shunpo'd** passed the man and stopped just behind him with a kunai in his right hand….the same one the nin just had. The nin fell down as his right hand and head flew into different directions, allowing his body to fall down on the floor just in front of Ino, shaking her nerves a little.

Naruto faced Ino and said with a smile, "Don't worry. Just take care of Chouji and Lee while we're gone. Leave everything to me!"

Ino nodded hesitantly and ran to Lee while saying, "Sakura, don't die on me!"

Sakura got up but accidentally dropped the gun on her lap. Naruto noticed it and was surprised when he saw the weapon. He said to Sakura, "Where did you get that?"

Sakura wasn't sure what to answer and Naruto asked her as he took the gun from the floor. He said, "This is a weapon that shouldn't be here." _'What is a pistol doing in this place? And how did Sakura get it?_

Shikamaru noticed these unusual things and said, "Naruto, I have many questions but I'll put those aside right now. Sasuke is getting farther from us the longer you stay here."

Naruto replied, "Shikamaru, you're coming with us too."

Shikamaru was slightly surprised but said, "I don't want to get involved in this mess. It's your problem not mine."

Naruto replied, "But it will be yours as well. I won't let you stay here and do nothing and then reflect on the deaths of people thinking you could've done something. Remember, one of those people could be someone close to you just like how Ino was nearly killed if someone hadn't stepped in. What do you think would've happened to Chouji after?"

Shikamaru replied as he scratched his head, "Wakata…I get your point."

Naruto nodded and faced Sakura. He said, "I won't ask you were you got this. But right now, let's go save Sasuke." He placed the gun on the seat beside Chouji and the three of them ran out of the arena to chase Sasuke.

Chad sighed when he saw Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru leave. He faced Ampaw and the stupid man said, "I don't get why you're not attacking me right away. You clearly had a chance to kill me awhile ago so why did you wait?"

Chad replied, "Because I know my first punch didn't hurt you. It'll take more than that to kill you. If I intended to kill you, no one will survive."

Ampaw jumped out of his position and landed into the arena and Chad followed him down. Ino looked on to what was happening and said as she helped up Lee, "Are you okay?"

Lee replied, "I'm fine. I can take more than this."

Ino looked at the stare down between Chad and Ampaw. She thought, _'If he's here, then so must be Inoue and her friends.'_

Suddenly, she was surrounded by four oto nins. But before they could do anything, the oto nins each took a head shot as the sound of gunfire reverberated around the area. When the nins fell to the ground, Ino saw Inoue standing a few feet behind them in a defensive position while holding on to the MK23 with Hinata and Kiba beside her.

Ino said, "Inoue-san…"

Orihime replied as she dropped her stance, "Ino-san, are you alright?"

Ino and Lee nodded and Lee said, "Thank you very much. You saved our lives."

Kiba said to them, "It's chaos out here. The Hokage is under attack, and Konoha has been invaded by oto and sand shinobi. What do we do?"

Inoue replied, "We have to take back the arena from the Oto and Sand shinobi first. Once the arena is back in our control, we have to reinforce the other Konoha shinobi fighting in the village."

Hinata looked at the roof of the Hokage's box, she saw a pinkish purple rectangular barrier erected on top of it. She focused her **Byakugan **even closer and saw four Oto genins holding the barrier together while Orochimaru, Ishida and Sarutobi are inside it.

The Hyuuga heiress replied, "Hokage-sama is trapped with Orochimaru!"

"What?" Kiba replied.

Ino asked, "Who is Orochimaru?"

Hinata replied, "He is the leader of this assault. If I remember, he was the former student of the Sandaime Hokage and a former Sannin. But now he leads Otogakure."

They were speechless as they looked at the rectangular barrier on the rooftop of the Hokage's box seat.

Lee said, "The Hokage and Orochimaru…."

Ino finished, "Student vs. Master."

Orihime asked Hinata, "Hinata-chan, is there other people there?"

Hinata nodded and said, "Hai. There are three ANBU guards just outside the barrier, four Oto shinobi at the corners of the rectangular barrier and Ishida-san is also in the barrier with them."

Orihime replied, "Let's go and do what we need to do."

Ino asked, "Is it alright to just leave? What about everyone else here?"

Orihime replied, "They'll be fine. Let's believe in them. Because right now is the time we need to believe the most."

With that, Gai stopped fighting and said to them, "The fire of Konoha burns deep within you. Leave things to us. Lee, protect these people with your life."

Lee saluted and said, "Hai. Gai-sensei. Thank you very much."

Lee, Kiba, Hinata, Ino and Orihime leave the arena and into Konoha's city streets while Gai looks around and says, "Hmmm. It seems I've defeated them all. I better get going myself." But then he tilted his head to the right to avoid a thrust from a red staff and in the same motion, ducked, turned around and picked up and threw a kunai towards the person who attacked him….Unggoy.

Unggoy was fully healed but took the kunai to the chest. Yet despite that, he didn't flinch.

Gai quickly backed away and went into his fighting stance and said, "So there was one more hiding shamelessly in the dark."

Unggoy replied as he pulled out the kunai, threw it away and went into a fighting stance with his staff, "I just waited for a good fighter to show up. And you look like an animal I can kill…with a very bad taste in clothing."

Gai replied, "These clothes are to create maximum flexibility and durability when fighting so that we can fight without holding back."

Unggoy said, "Whatever, Fei Long slash Chuck Norris. I'm Unggoy the monk. What's yours?"

Gai replied, "I am Konoha's beautiful green beast, Maito, Gai."

Unggoy shouted and charged at Gai.

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Sarutobi was locked in a barrier with Ishida and both were currently facing Orochimaru in his true clothing. On the four corners of the barrier were Jirobu, Tayuya, Kidomaru, Sakon and his brother Ukon keeping the barrier together while placing a barrier around themselves.

Orochimaru replied, "What's bothering you? We are good friends. Tell me what's wrong."

Sarutobi replied, "You of all people should know. Why did you come back here?"

Orochimaru replied, "To see you…Sarutobi-sensei."

Ishida narrowed his eyes knowing the intent of the enemy before them.

Sarutobi said as he looked at the barrier on the four Oto shinobis and said, "Looks like I cannot leave so easily."

Orochimaru smirked and said, "You must be kidding. To you, it'll be harder to fight if other people interfered."

Both shinobis ran to each other in a head on assault. Sarutobi quickly did handseals and said, "**Ninpou, Kawara Shuriken!**"

The tiles from the floor lifted off and spinned towards Orochimaru who also did handseals and said before he leaped up, "Not good enough!" he finished the handseals in the air and said, "**Senei Jashu!**" his tongue transformed into a green snake and slithered through the air to attack Sarutobi at the neck but was quickly intercepted by an arrow of reiatsu shot from Ishida's bow.

Orochimaru landed back on the ground and recoiled his tongue to recalculate his odds while Ishida said, "You're forgetting that I'm still here to stop you."

Orochimaru chuckled and said, "The boy from that time wishes to be a hero." He eyed the bow of pure reiatsu in Ishida's right hand and greed filled his mind. He asked Ishida, "I've never seen a weapon like that before. Where did you learn this skill?"

Ishida replied as he aimed the bow, "From my grandfather."

Orochimaru laughed and said, "Nostalgic isn't it Sarutobi-sensei. A boy learned a wonderful skill from his mentor before the mentor expired without time to teach him more of the world."

Sarutobi replied, "Don't put things together to fit your ideals."

Ishida replied as he drew his bow steadily, "I think you have a misconception. My grandfather does not have the same ideals you assume."

"Oh?" Orochimaru said with amusement as Ishida smiled and said, "He taught me one thing…the pride of Quincy. 'To respect all life is to respect thyself and to respect thyself is to take pride in the being that you are.' A man with no shame, does not have the right to assume of others. On the pride of Quincy, I will make you repent."

Orochimaru laughed even more seeing the confident face of Ishida. The snake sannin then set his face back to his creepy smile and said, "Then your blood shall wash away my sins." He quickly made handseals but halfway through, Ishida fired fifty arrows at the snake sannin, killing him only for the body to turn into snakes that exploded towards Sarutobi and Ishida. Sarutobi got in front of Ishida and did handseals and said, "**Doton, Doryuu Taiga!**"

The snakes reformed into Orochimaru at the last second who jumped back momentarily to avoid the mudslide that occurred in front of Sarutobi only for Ishida to reappear behind him and send a bolt of reiatsu through the back of his skull and past Sarutobi's head to the left by mere millimeters.

Orochimaru gaped and turned around to fall on his back with his mouth open. Both Ishida and Sarutobi leaped back as Orochimaru got out of his own mouth from. The dead corpse he left behind that turned into mud.

Ishida leaped up and aimed at Orochimaru while Sarutobi quickly did handseals and said, "**Doton, Doryuudan**!" Orochimaru was about to do another set of handseals until he felt four arrows of reiatsu snare his ankles to the ground. He didn't have time to look where it came from when he saw the mud he left behind turn into a dragon's head with its mouth opened for him to see as a bright light shone from inside. Sarutobi shouted out, "**Karyuudan!**" Sarutobi spit out a barrage of fire missiles to mix wit the earth that the mud dragon spewed out at the same time.

Orochimaru nicked his thumb and placed it on the ground creating a summoning seal on it. One of his giant snakes came out and took the hits as Orochimaru broke free from the arrows and evaded Ishida's hailstorm of arrows but not without taking a few arrows himself.

The ANBU that watched this were amazed. One ANBU said, "Hokage-sama mixed an earth and fire element attack together! Hokage-sama is living up to the name."

Another ANBU member said, "But that's not as amazing as that other guy. Who is he?"

Ishida landed back on the ground as another Orochimaru appeared behind him and held him up by placing his arms under Ishida's armpits and holding him by the nape. The original saw the opportunity and spit out Kusanagi at him like an arrow.

Sarutobi quickly discarded his Hokage robes to reveal his favorite black armor and rushed to Ishida and caught Kusanagi with his left hand just before it skewered the Quincy's neck. Ishida raised his arms up and dropped down to his knees while Sarutobi jumped up with his legs outstretched and made a clockwise spin, slicing the head off the clone of Orochimaru while Ishida quickly drew his bow and fired another massive barrage of arrows at Orochimaru who had no means of escape within the second the more than a thousand arrows in that one second flew to him.

Orochimaru said as he crouched down and put his bloody thumb on the ground, "**Kuchiyose, Rashoumon!"**

A massive and ugly but demonic looking gate came out to block the arrows but did little defense to the reiatsu bolts that pierced through it's demonic frame and Orochimaru on the other side.

The snake sannin yelped in agony as the reiatsu bolts tore through his body making him look like a literal human dartboard. The evil shinobi fell to the ground as life was leaving him.

"H-How?! I cannot die! I….glergh!" Orochimaru said as he gurgled blood that came from his opened arteries and non-recoverable wounds.

Ishida said as he walked towards him, "Chakra is different from Reiatsu. Reiatsu will eat through your body because it feeds on chakra like a poison if you are not trained in it. That's why it is dangerous to try to use abilities that require reiatsu because it can create heavy backlashes."

Orochimaru said in between coughs of blood, "That's why it broke through **Rashoumon**."

Sarutobi appeared beside Ishida as he looks at his dying student. "Orochimaru…I'm sorry for raising you without thinking. If I had been a better mentor…things wouldn't end this way."

Orochimaru said as he struggled to move away, "Don't be sorry. It won't end like this. I still can live."

Sarutobi replied as the reiatsu arrows began to disappear, "You're not living on your original body anymore. There is no hope for you left."

Orochimaru replied, "So you knew? Did you also know about this from the start?"

Sarutobi closed his eyes and said, "Yes. I knew everything."

Orochimaru scrunched up his brows and yelled, "Kabuto! KabutO WhErE ArE YoU!!"

The sound nins holding up the barrier let it down as they saw their badly defeated master now yelling for help.

Ishida readied himself for another assault while the three ANBU from the sidelines quickly stood around the Quincy and the Hokage in a triangle formation.

The sound genins had angry looks on their faces as they surrounded the Konoha nins plus Quincy from escaping.

One of the ANBU asked, "Hokage-sama, are you alright?"

The Hokage replied, "Now wouldn't be the time to ask that from the look of things."

Tayuya yelled out, "Fucking bastards! Move aside or we'll trash you even worse than what you did to Orochimaru-sama!"

But before anyone else could react, Orochimaru's dying body felt a vertical beam of yellow light transport him up to an eerily dark hole in the sky. As they watched it, Ishida thought, _'What? No…they're summoning him to become a part of them. What is happening out here? This doesn't make any sense at all.'_

But then Ishida saw a familiar set of green eyes peer down on Orochimaru from the black opening in the sky. Soon, a black, skeleton-like hand reached out from the dark hole and wrapped its wiry frame on Orochimaru's half-awake face. The skeleton-like hand faded into the wind and Orochimaru's golden slit eyes became green ones.

The snake sannin laughed and said, "Is that so? Even I became a pawn in this game? Hahahaha! What a dreadful beast. I've never felt so afraid in my entire life. You were right Sarutobi-sensei…"

Soon the entire sky became one portal of darkness. As Hollows fell down from the sky, the land around Konoha stood still. The trees turned grey and the leaves became black. The animals in the forest ran away in fright only to slowly die one by one. All life on the continent was dying.

But if one were to look at Orochimaru now, they'd see a petrified smile on his face as he said, "There is no hope for us now."

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In a lake not too far away from a house, a lone nin from Mizugakure looked around in fear as hollows erupted everywhere and death plagued the ground with the lack of life.

He heard a boy's voice cry out to him from the house, "Otou-san, Why is the sky black?"

He turned around and said, "Kuuya, get back in the house!"

Suddenly a woman came out of the house and picked up the boy and said, "Kuuya, listen to your otou-san."

The nin pulled out a kunai and said, "Nagase, take Kuuya down to the basement." _'I have to warn the Mizukage.'_

The lone nin ran as fast as he could into Mizugakure. But when he got there, all he saw was chaos as people right and left fought one another for food and other commodities while hollows tore through the city as if the people didn't know what was going on while he himself saw exactly what was going on.

He said in fright, "Kami…help us all." Suddenly, a figure in blue armor reminiscent of the samurai and eastern dragons stood beside him and said, "So this is what happened during my long sleep. In the end, it made no difference."

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Up in the mountains to the far west of Konoha stood a brownish gray golem with metal claws now drenched in blood as he stood with an army of faceless warriors robed in fur coats like the Russian trenchcoats during world war II with a hint of Egyptian design.

The golem hollered or rather roared to the Iwa nins in front of him, "The true ruler of this land is here. So make way or die like dogs on my feet."

One of the Iwa nins did a few handseals and said, **"Doton, Doryuudan!**" but nothing happened. Instead, his body began to melt like mud. The man panicked before gurgling mud and vomiting it out. The nin fell on his face and his body melted into the earth.

The other nins were terrified. The golem hollered out again, "The world doesn't have chakra anymore. All of it has been eaten up thanks to that oversized butt hole in the sky."

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In a temple carved into the right side of a deep trench, mighty winds blew hard just outside of it until the winds calmed down alerting the monks of the temple to look outside. One monk looked and was awed to see that the very winds themselves flowed like smoke yet at the same time like a river through the trench, headed downstream.

Though magnificent to look at, the monks were suddenly being attacked by hollows left and right.

The people in the temple panicked and tried to run away but found themselves too weak, too hungry and too tired to free themselves from their fates as hollows pounced on them and turned them into their meals.

But in the river made of smoke a black haired woman in a mix of eastern and western monk robes while fitted with silver Chinese armor walked across it towards the temple. she said as she gazed her silver eyes, "Finally, I am free. But what I see is not freedom at all."

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Back in the forests of Konoha, Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru leaped from tree branch to tree branch to chase down Sasuke.

The young blonde saw that the forest was dying and that the sky had blackened as he saw hollows fall from the sky.

He said, "Sakura, Shikamaru, we have to move faster. Things aren't looking good at all."

Sakura replied, "What's happening here? It's as if everything is fading away."

Shikamaru replied in a slightly panicked voice, "We have more to worry about than the scenery. Those hollows are literally raining down on us."

Naruto replied, "Which is why we have to save Sasuke faster. I don't want to see everyone turned into one of them."

Naruto forged on until he realized that his two companions weren't behind him. He stopped and turned around and leaped back until he saw his two friends on a branch, pale, exhausted, and seemingly short of life.

The young blonde went to them and said, "Shikamaru, Sakura what happened to you guys? Are you alright?"

Sakura replied, "I'm….so hungry….so tired…."

Shikamaru replied, "Men….do…kuse."

Naruto put his right hand on Sakura's forehead and felt her grow extremely cold. He said with a surprised face, "Sakura, You're dying." _'It's as if there isn't any chakra left in her. I can't feel a thing in her. That sky….no it's not the sky. Someone else is doing this. It's faint because of the scale of the spell used but I can feel it…this reiatsu has a scent.'_

The young blonde then took out two white semi-transparent balls the size of a golf ball and gave one to Sakura and one to Shikamaru. He had to make them eat it because they couldn't muster the strength to do it themselves. But when they ate it, life came back to them and their color returned at the same time of their strength.

As the two shinobis got on their feet, Naruto said, "We are all in grave danger. This is the work of someone powerful." He sharpened his gaze as he thought, _'This is…'_

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"Hikaru-sama!" yelled Tokage in a white polo and black slacks as she walked towards the living room of a modern day house complete with a couch, a small glass table in front of it and a TV on the wall across the couch. It was dark thanks to the blinds covering the windows. She went over to the blinds and pulled it away to reveal sunlight from the outside world where you could see modern day Japanese buildings and busy cars on the streets.

She sighed as Polgas showed up behind her in his uniform and mask and asked her, "Why are we here? Why don't we go back and just kill them all?"

She turned around and said with a deadpanned look, "Because Hikaru-sama nearly got attacked by that snake freak." _'I'd rather die from this guy than that snake in men's clothing.'_

Hikaru entered the room in a yellow shirt and blue shorts as paint was mixed up all over his face and on his clothes. The silver haired boy said, "Besides, that world is getting boring. It's no fun if the people don't listen to you at all."

The two nins bowed and Tokage said, "Hikaru-sama, Tritran, Ampaw, Kapre and Unggoy have done their work as requested. But I still don't understand what you are trying to achieve with all this."

Hikaru waved his finger and said, "A magician never reveals their tricks. It wouldn't be called magic if there wasn't anything magical and mysterious about it." the silver haired boy sat on a nearby couch and grabbed the remote and turned on the TV that showed the daily news.

The news broadcaster said as a picture of a broken down village in the jungles appeared on screen, "More and more hollow attacks are occurring all over South America and not just in Japan alone. It's chaos no matter where you look as these terrible incidents occur more and more frequently."

Hikaru said to them, "This world has gotten used to hollows moving around left and right when just a few years ago, they panicked at the thought of a new threat that they could not comprehend. I wonder how long it took for them to cope with their new way of life."

Tokage noticed that there was an empty bowl of ice cream with the cherry remaining and beside it was a bottle of strawberry syrup and a plate of a gingerbread man complete with eyes and a smile made from icing as well as a simple drawn clothing from the icing.

Hikaru then looked at the gingerbread man and said, "Today we will sit back and watch as they try to cope with their new lives." He then poked a hole into the gingerbread man's chest and placed the cherry inside it. He said as he took the strawberry syrup and squeezed it on the cherry, "They will be filled with dread with the arrival of something strange on their land but eventually, they will cling on to life for someone to save them….even if it means they have to bleed to fill that hole left in their hearts."

Tokage got what he meant and grew pale as she shuddered when she saw the gingerbread man bleed strawberry syrup from the cherry.

Hikaru then stopped pouring strawberry syrup and said with a smile, "Let's go pick up some strawberries."

Polgas asked him, "I'll go get you some at the store downstairs."

Hikaru said to him, "Well, today is special so lets have something interesting today….How about an orange strawberry?"

There is nothing more terrifying than a man lost to himself. But if multiplied in number, the world becomes chaotic and destructive. But if they made sense in their own twisted way, and formed themselves into something else, if they band together to tear each other apart, then the chaos becomes self sufficient and thus is born….perfect insanity.

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Barkeep: (Throws up then wipes his face clean.) What the hell was that?

The latest chapter.

Barkeep: That thing scared me shitless. Now I can't even sleep tonight thinking about what in the world is happening there.

Get used to it. Everything becomes chaotic once in a while. Anyway, I'm writing the next chapter really quickly so that people don't have to think I'm dead or something. Anything else to write…..not much.

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

Jaa matta.

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**Suzume no Ishiyumi(Crossbow of the Sparrow) – **an attack that transforms the bow into an arbalest with a bolt with wings to cut a swath through enemies and buildings alike in one shot.

**Ninpou, Hebi no Shinkokyuu(Deep Breath of the Snake) – **an technique that spreads a poisonous smoke from the body of the user and poisons reiatsu allowing hollows to emerge from any attack of pure reiatsu.

**Doton, Kuchiyose, Tenkuu no Kagi(Earth, Summoning Key of Heaven) – **a summoning technique that releases a key from the opponent.

**Hijutsu, Sanmen Kagami(Hidden Art, Three-faced Mirror) – **turns a mirror into a weapon using light. The mirror takes the shape of a three-pronged shuriken.

**Hijutsu, Yaburetayume(Hidden Art, Shattered Dream) – **uses the mirrors as a waypoint for an attack to attack all enemies around the user.

**Fuuton, Kuchiyose, Tenkuu no Kagi(Wind, Summoning Key of Heaven) – **similar to the earth summoning.


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